Black and White
by KingKuro
Summary: AU. Two new students are enrolled at Karakura High along side Karin and Yuzu. These two boys have great, unknown power and are unknowingly being prepared for war. HitsuKarin YuzuOC
1. Chapter 1

***Sigh* I can't believe I'm actually doing this but, I've wanted to write this for a while now. I wanted to finish Frosted Fire first but this idea was killing me. It's AU again.**

**Disclaimer: Yada yada yada.**

Chapter 1:

After a typical morning at the Kurosaki household, typical being filled with violence and loud noises, Karin couldn't wait to leave. Muttering a quick goodbye to her brother and a quick uppercut to her father's chin, she gently but swiftly dragged Yuzu to school.

"Finally, silence." Karin groaned out. She finally slowed her pace once she could no longer hear her father's nonsensical ramblings.

"Why are you rushing Karin?" Yuzu asked politely.

"No particular reason. It's just Goat-Chin gets annoying. But anyway, we're almost there." Karin replied as her highschool came into the horizon.

"Oh did you know we're getting new students today?" Yuzu said after a brief silence. Karin just gave a quick shake of the head and was about to reply but was cut off by the school's bell.

"Hurry! We're going to be late!" Karin exclaimed as she began to drag a startled Yuzu to their first class.

-Homeroom-

"Ok students. As I'm sure you've heard, we'll be getting two new students today. And I've been informed that they're both geniuses." The teacher said in an overly excited tone. Karin looked to her left and out the window, for she didn't care about any new students.

The class door swung open and the two new students walked in, ever so slowly. The one in front locked eyes with the teacher. He was about slightly above average height and had a cold, unforgiving stare. His eyes were icy and aqua and he wore a permanent scowl. But the most striking feature about him was that his wild hair, that seemed to work on its own accord and it was a white as the purest snow.

The boy behind him was about equal in height but had a vastly different appearance. His hair was short, ending at the base of his neck and was messy. His face was blank and emotionless, but was not cold and calculating as the one before him. His skin was flawless and tan but his eyes are what everyone was paying attention to. They were ruby red with a unique shine that spoke of intelligence and indifference.

"Class I would like you to meet our new students. Toshiro Hitsugaya and Ash Kita." She said as she gestured to each of them respectively. Toshiro looked out the corner of his eye to see the entire class staring at him and Ash. "Now children be nice to these two. They're quite introverted." The teacher said as she noticed that the entire females population had their eyes glued to the duo. "Just take your seats, class is about to begin."

Without wasting anytime at all, they both took the two conveniently opened seats in the back of the Kurosaki sisters. Yuzu started to blush rather loudly as she put her head on the desk, muttering silently. Karin on the other hand, kept up a calm facade but on the inside she was slightly excited.

'Wow. Two new boys for the girls to throw themselves at. This school year is about to get interesting.'

-After School-

The school day had been rather uneventful and the day was just about over. Karin had plans to talk to the new students more, as she couldn't do it during the day because of the crowds of screaming girls around them.

"Oi! Toshiro!" She yelled as she spotted the unmistakable white hair from the gate. She quickly ran up to his, where she heard him sigh in annoyance.

"I thought I told you it's Hitsugaya." He said in a calm, irritated voice. Ash stopped walking and looked at the slightly tired female with interest.

"We never got to introduce ourselves due to your and his fans." She joked earning her a slight chuckle from the white haired teen. "I'm Karin Kurosaki and that...is Yuzu." She said at the end as she noticed the blushing girl approach.

Ash tuned his intense gaze on the quieter sister, making her feel as though the world was on her tiny shoulders. "You already know our names." Toshiro said in boredom. But before Karin could drag on the conversation further, they heard an obnoxious horn honking.

"OI! My lovely Karin!" Isshin all but yelled from the newly purchased family car. The twins turned in unison but once they turned to face the opposite teens again, they were long gone.

'Wow. That was fast. Tomorrow then.' Karin thought as she kicked her father for no apparent reason.

Unbeknownst to anyone there, there was two pairs of eyes observing Toshiro and Ash. "Damn. For humans, their reiatsu is off the charts. They're walking hollow magnets." One voice said to the other.

"Hmm. I wonder how it got so high. But we have to do something. Power that pure can be devastating if _he _gets to them." The other said as he waved his fan over his developing grin.

"I hear there's a shinigami here as well. By the name of Rukia Kuchiki. Think those two have any connection?"

"Not likely as those two seem unaware of their reiatsu levels."

"So what do we do?"

"We test and prepare them."

**A/N: In this AU Karin and Yuzu are 14 while Ichigo is 16. This is at the start of the serious. Frosted Fire will continue on randomly but this will go up whenever I need filler. Leave a review if you enjoy.**


	2. Chapter 2

Heylo. Time for the second chapter of Black and White.

Chapter 2:

Today was going to be a great day for the Kurosaki twins but not for the reasons anyone would expect. It was a good day for Yuzu because she got the opportunity to learn more about the mysterious, silent red-eyed teen. Ever since the first day they met, she always found Ash's calm composure to be a rather pleasant shift from the loud and obnoxious teen boys. Just the thought of the raven-haired teen made Yuzu blush slightly. Something Karin noticed.

It was going to be a good day for Karin because she absolutely loved to annoy Tōshirō in anyway she could. It was a known fact that Tōshirō was somewhat of a hothead who got annoyed very easily. She often bothered him at random times in hopes of getting a rise out of him and she succeeded more often than not leading to her enjoyment and Ash having to calm his brother down.

When they arrived at school, they saw a massive crowd of people by the front gate. The twins were about to bypass it until Karin saw a flash of white out the corner of her eye. With remarkable reflexes, she snatched Yuzu's arm and began tearing her way through the sea of people. At the very center, she saw Tōshirō and Ash looking around them with mild interest and very visible annoyance.

Around them stood about ten older boys who glared furiously at the brothers as if they're very presence was sickening. "Hey freaks. If it's a fight you want, we'll give you more than that." The largest guy in front said with malicious intent dripping off of every word. Almost immediately after he spoke, two of his friends lunged at Ash and three at Tōshirō. A part of Karin wanted to stop the fight but another side wanted to see if the brothers weren't all just good looks. Yuzu was about to yell until Karin covered her mouth.

"Shh. Don't you wanna know if they can fight?" She asked with anticipation lacing her voice.

One boy threw a punch at Ash's rather calm face, but much to his surprise the red-eyed teen isn't just looks. He caught the blow with ease and stared blankly at his startled attacker.

"If you leave us alone, no one gets hurt." Tōshirō said as he watched the leader get progressively more angry.

"Who are you to threaten me?!" He shouted back.

"Shall I rephrase? Leave us alone or someone will get hurt." Tōshirō reiterated more intense than before. His tone alone almost silenced the whole crowd and made the leader tremble slightly.

"Get them!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. Ash seemed to sigh at this guy's blatant ignorance and just looked at Tōshirō and nodded.

The red-eyed teen twisted his attacker's arm around ad forced the boy to turn around. Once he did, Ash sent a powerful elbow to the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. Seeing his friend get knocked out with one hit almost made the teen call off his assault. Almost. Two boys charged at Tōshirō simultaneously from either side in hopes that someone will hit him but the white-haired teen proved to quick as he simply sidestepped the blows and used the momentum to push the boys head first into each other.

With three boys dispatched rather easily, the leader finally gave in to his fear. "Everyone run! But listen freaks, this isn't over. Remember this face and name. Kagawa." Kagawa said before running away with his conscience friends behind him. The crowd was stunned by the display they just witnessed but quickly dispersed when the heard the voice of the principal.

Karin quickly grabbed both boy by their shoulders and dragged them away.

-The Roof-

"That was amazing!" Karin exclaimed for the tenth time since they got up there. Ash sighed in annoyance but said nothing as Tōshirō fumed over the girl's need to repeat things. Seriously he understood what he did would be considered impressive, but it was becoming annoying.

Ash noticed his brother's carefully concealed fury and couldn't help but crack a tiny smile. As he and Yuzu sat there and listened to Karin and Tōshirō's argument, Ash suddenly felt very uneasy, as if someone was watching them. It seemed that Tōshirō felt it to, because he stopped yelling and started to glare at a particularly dense area of trees.

"What's wrong guys?" Karin asked when she noticed she was being ignored. "Hey! Stop ignoring us." She yelled.

"Nothing." Ash replied without hesitation. "Let's go to class." With those words, he and his older brother began heading to class without waiting for the Kurosaki twins.

-Several hours later-

School was an uneventful as ever expect for Ash and Tōshirō's little contest in class to answer the most questions. Tōshirō won the close competition. The two brothers walked in total silence towards the school's main entrance, each silently hoping to see the Kurosaki sisters.

Even though both were rather cold and antisocial, it's something about those girls that made them suddenly want to speak and made them relax.

Whilst being lost in thought, both teens failed to notice that they almost passed there turn but heard a loud yell.

"TŌSHIRŌ! ASH!" An easily recognizable voice screeched. They heard the footsteps nearing and braced themselves for a rather loud conversation.

"Yes Kurosaki?" The white-haired teen said unconsciously slowing down. He watch with little interest as the two twins got closer with Karin sporting a large smile and Yuzu looking nervous and had a notable blush on her cheeks.

"Don't call me that. Yuzu has something she wants to ask you guys." The older twin said with slight annoyance at the first part. All three turned to the very nervous girl an patiently awaited her question.

"Um. W-would you like to come over for dinner?" She asked avoiding all eye contact and playing with her fingers. Ash wanted to smile at the girl's discomfort but chose against it. He instead just turned to Tōshirō and waited for his response.

"Sure." Was the white haired teen's plain response. This simple word made Yuzu light up as if she won every award in history.

"Great! Come whenever you feel like."

**A/N: Next chapter is them meeting Isshin and finding out who was watching them.**."e" drelnhe won evhl's sooking ner

an heading to clads


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Molk-Chan for reviewing. ^^

Chapter 3:

-Ash and Tōshirō's home-

As the opposite brothers began to prepare themselves for what would surely be an interesting evening, the feeling of being watched set in again, but this time it felt as though the pair of eyes were closing in on them. Thinking quickly, Ash got into a fighting stance and began to glare furiously at their backdoor.

"Should we go check it out or wait until we get back?" Ash asked as he noticed Tōshirō's calm composure. Tōshirō appeared to be completely ignoring the feeling and just waved Ash off.

"Leave it. We won't be gone to long. Just make sure lock up." Tōshirō stated as he put on his trench coat over his long sleeved, fully buttoned up shirt and his long dark blue jeans. He wore plain white shoes that matched his hair. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Ash said finally letting his guard down. He wore a black button shirt, with long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore long dark jeans with black and white shoes. Ash brought two extra scarves because it was going to be very cold on this November night. But before leaving Ash, did a double take at the backdoor giving a silent warning to anyone there.

-Kurosaki Residents-

Whilst Yuzu was beginning to set the table and Isshin helped to clean the dishes, Ichigo pulled Karin aside and into her room. He gave her the typical disapproving big brother look before beginning his interrogation.

"So who's coming over?" He began smoothly.

"Two friends from school." Karin replied without missing a beat.

"What are their names?"

"Ash and Tōshirō."

"So they're boys. I'll be watching you four tonight." Ichigo finished, staring suspiciously at Karin as he backed away slowly. She was kind of hoping that he trip and fell on that lion plushy that suddenly appeared there but he had the presence of mind to avoid it.

The very second Yuzu had finished setting the table, there was a knock on the door. Yuzu suddenly became very nervous and even Karin had to admit that being embarrassed here would probably kill her. When Ichigo opened the door to reveal the brothers, both Karin and Yuzu began to blush slightly, to where as Yuzu thought her face was ablaze.

"Good evening Kurosaki-san." Tōshirō said politely. Isshin was literally floored by the formality and began sobbing tears of happiness.

"Oh my dear wife, not only did our girls pick two good looking boys but their so polite!" He sobbed hysterically a he slammed himself into the poster of his dead wife.

Ash, Tōshirō and Ichigo just stared blankly at the display until Ichigo signaled for everyone to be seated. Tonight Yuzu held nothing back, cooking all of her best dishes all in hopes to impress the raven-haired teen and his brother, who in all honesty was already quite impressed that they would go this far just for them. "Alright everyone. Eat up!" Ichigo said with his eyes firmly glued to Ash and Tōshirō as if they terrible prisoners.

Yuzu waited patiently for Ash to take his first bite, as did Karin for Tōshirō. What took less than a second, felt like decades to the twins but it was all worth it when Tōshirō took his first bite and smirked. "Wow. This is great. You made this?" He said gesturing to the silent Kurosaki.

"Y-yes I did." She responded, unable to keep the happiness out of her voice.

"It's really good." Ash added shortly after his brother, which made the Yuzu feel as though she ha won the lottery twice in a row. Ash gave a small smirk to the girl's happiness, something Tōshirō didn't miss. He would be sure to taunt his brother about this later but chose not to ruin the mood.

"So are you two related?" Isshin asked once everyone settled down. A bit of discomfort flashed in both Tōshirō and Ash's eyes before leaving nothing but ice.

"Well not by blood." Tōshirō answered. "Ash's older sister adopted me…" He trailed off showing he didn't want to say anymore than he already did. Isshin wanted to ask more but saw the sadness in the boys' eyes and swallowed his questions. Not wanting to upset the boy, the Kurosaki father changed the subject.

"So when are you going to marry my daughters?" Isshin said with a hearty laugh. Tōshirō began to blush profusely and Ash fell out of his chair, all while both were chocking on their food.

-Two hours later-

"Bye guys!" Karin exclaimed with a large smile on her face. "Are you sure you don't want my Dad or Ichigo to carry you guys home?" She asked for the fifth time since they announced that they were leaving.

"We're sure. Thanks again." Tōshirō said in response. Just as he and Ash began walking away, Ash looked back and gave Yuzu a glance of interest, but the very second Yuzu looked eyes with the mysterious teen, he had already begun turned back around. Once the brothers were sure they couldn't be seen anymore, Tōshirō let out a sigh of relief.

"We should do that more often." He said to his brother with a smirk. Ash merely nodded in agreement before his eyes widen tremendously. Alarmed, Tōshirō looked forward and glared at the thing that just appeared in front of them. The creature was about twenty feet tall and had a very large upper body. It had a diabolical white mask with no eyes or a visible nose.

"Ahh what amazing power you two have. I can't wait to take it!" The creature said in a scary calm, deep voice. He jumped at the startled brothers with sharp fangs, primed to strike. He got about five feet away before Tōshirō snapped out of his daze. He shoved Ash aside and braced himself for a lot of pain. But he never felt it as Ash grabbed his arm on the way down and removed him from danger.

"Tōshirō. Reach into your coat pocket. I put your sword in there. I felt like whoever was watching us was about to finally move and it appears I wasn't wrong." Ash spoke silently, somehow managing to keep the fear out of his voice. At the same time as Tōshirō unsheathed his long sword, Ash reached into his own pockets to reveal two spiked brass knuckles.

The beast swiftly turned around and appeared directly in front of the boys once again, but instead of a bite, he came down with one of his massive hands. Tōshirō did the most logical thing and pointed his sword high into the air, causing the monster to impale his hand. Trembling slightly under the large appendage, Tōshirō signaled Ash to strike with a simple eye movement.

Ash jumped as high as he physically could and, with a short battle cry, he threw a punch at the hollow's forehead with every once of strength he possessed. And apparently it wasn't enough because all it did was make multiple cracks on the mask. The beast roared in pain before stepping back a bit. This gave Tōshirō a wide open shot at the beasts chest.

Blood spilled for the massive cut the monster had received but it wasn't enough to kill it. Using an unknown technique, he appeared once again in front of the boys, but his sudden speed allowed him to grab Ash and Tōshirō in his massive fists. "You cut through my hierro like nothing. For that you must die!" He yelled angrily.

He slammed both boys into the concrete below him with such a force that his heavily cracked the road. Both boys lost consciousness almost instantly but when the hollow began to charge a cero, it's head was quickly cut off.

"Wow. They managed to badly hurt a hollow with that much power. That's beyond impressive. You're right, undeveloped power like this shouldn't be left alone." A black cat said as it emerged from the shadows.

"Not only that but did you feel that reiatsu burst? They're very interesting. Come bring them back to the shop before they die out here." The jolly shopkeeper said with an excited grin.

"Ash Kita and Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Very interesting indeed." The cat said as two young children picked up the unconscious brothers and vanished.

**A/N: Well that was unexpected wasn't it. Looks like Ash and Tōshirō won't be to school for a few days. If you enjoyed leave a review. ^^ Rebel signing out.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey.

Chapter 4: 

Ash's eyes opened slowly. A bright light above his head made him wince. He tried to stand up but felt a gentle cat's tail rub on his forehead.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The cat said in its mysteriously deep voice. The feline fully expected for the boy to be extremely shocked at the idea of a talking cat, but was disappointed when all the boy did was sigh heavily.

"Where is Tōshirō?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm right here Ash." The calm, cool Tōshirō spoke for in the corner. Ash turned his head slightly to the right to see his brother propped up on a series of pillows. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine but my body aches badly. What happened?" Ash asked as he once again tried to sit up. This was a bad idea. He felt as though his whole body got hit by a bus twice and then the bus parked on top of his ribs. He wanted to scream but bit down on my lower jaw as hard as he could to suppress the loud noise.

After Tōshirō explained what happened to them with very notable pain in his voice. "That's what happened. We've been out for about three days now." He added at the end with his voice void of emotion. Ash's eyes widen heavily to the news but accepted it nonetheless.

"You two are unbelievable. First you beat all those bullies at school, then you somehow noticed that we were watching you. But the most impressive thing is that you hurt a hollow with that much power." The cat stated with a proud and interested tone. Both brothers were extremely shocked to discover that this cat had been the one watching them, but that one answer brought up many more questions.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions but we need two more people to be here." The feline smirk. Right on cue, Ichigo Kurosaki barged in the room. The very second all three locked eyes, an understanding was reached.

"Don't tell Karin and Yuzu." They all said in unison. At that very moment, Ichigo agreed that Ash and Tōshirō are good people. Ash turned to the cat for an explanation of some kind but then another man came in.

"Hat n' clogs!" Ichigo exclaimed immediately.

"Yes, yes it's me. Now enough with the formalities. We have business to discuss."

-Several Hours Later-

As the boys somehow found the strength to walk home, they both constantly kept repeating the message Kisuke Urahara had relaid to them. 'You three have an incredible amount of power for humans. So much so that you'll be a target for hollows. While you two can probably kill a lower level hollow pretty easily, they won't always be weak.'

They remembered his greedy grin. 'But I can help you with that. It's your choice. Do you want to keep your abnormal power or get rid of it?' His grin all but disappeared as soon as this question was asked. This got the boys thinking.

Should we endanger our friends or lose our very rare gift?

Tōshirō had to admit that they latter was very selfish but…..but…..

He honestly couldn't find a reason why he should be. And with a quick glance at Ash, he could see that he came to the same conclusion. But before he could voice his question, they arrived at home.

"Home sweet home." Ash said with a heavy sigh. It had been a very long, painful few days for e and Tōshirō. All he wanted to do was roll over and die. But apparently it took a lot to kill him, so that option was gone. With a quick look at the clock, they quickly realized how late it was and decided to lock up and head to bed for school tomorrow. "Damn. How do we explain these bandages to Karin and Yuzu?" He said with another deep sigh and a look at his taped up left arm.

Tōshirō groaned in annoyance, him completely forgetting about his female friends. "We'll just wing it." He said in a completely exhausted tone. "If they ask, just change the subject. That's what I'll do."

"Good idea."

-The Next Day-

Arriving to school later than usual, the boys; well Ash chose to make a dramatic entrance. He ensured that the Kurosaki twins were in class and quickly thought of an excuse. But sadly Tōshirō ruined his plans and just walked it. But Ash managed to look at calm as normal.

"Hey everyone." Tōshirō said like he hadn't just miss the last four days of school. Karin's eyes widen tremendously, as did Yuzu's but for different reasons. Ash walked in shortly afterward with his usual lazy look and messy hair, looking as calm as ever.

No one said anything as everyone just stared at the boys as well as their multiple bandages for a brief moment to gain everyone's attention. But this failed as everyone just continued to stare blankly at the brothers.

"Welcome back boys. Take your seats, class is about to begin." She said sternly. Ignoring the young woman's tone, the boys went to their seats rather hastily to avoid being the center of attention.

Whilst he was walking past Karin, Tōshirō slipped her a small blue paper. She took it silently and waited for the teacher to turn her back to read its contents. The very instant she felt she was clear, she flipped it over.

'Both of you meet us on the roof at lunch.' Was all the note said in Tōshirō's impeccably perfect handwriting. She thought about passing in to Yuzu but the girl kept staring at the door in shock. She hadn't expect to see that boys today, nor in the state the currently were in. Karin watched as her twin slowly became more alert of her surroundings and slowly resumed class.

This whole day just got a whole lot more interesting.

-On the roof-

"Why'd you call them? I thought you didn't want them to know." Ash asked with mild curiosity.

"I thought about and it would be much quicker if we tell them now. Otherwise they'll keep bothering us." Tōshirō said with a small smirk. Ash began to chuckle a bit at that and began staring off in the distance.

"That wouldn't be so bad would it?" He asked somewhat seriously. Out the corner of his eye he saw Tōshirō blush very slightly before regaining his indifference.

"No it wouldn't. So what's your choice? Keep the power or give it up?" Tōshirō quickly said to change the subject.

"Keep it." His younger brother said without hesitation. The white haired teen gave a rare smile before nodding in agreement.

"You and me both."

Their small banter continued for a few minutes before the Kurosaki twins arrived. The brothers honestly expected the girls to be rather upset at them for suddenly vanishing and returning with injuries but they weren't. They were more concerned than anything.

Karin saw the confusion on the battered boys faces and got annoyed. "Don't tell me you expected us to be mad?" She said in a low, warning tone. Both boys looked at the floor rather intently and said nothing. "Tōshirō get over here." She commanded.

While Tōshirō was approaching his inevitable doom, Yuzu walked up to Ash. Before Ash could think, Yuzu had gave him a warm embrace. His eyes widen slightly and he gasped from the pain. Despite the physical pain he was going through right now, he decided to let the shy girl hug him for a few moments longer. After they broke their hug, Yuzu looked him dead in the eye.

"What happened to you guys?" She said quietly. "I hate seeing my friends so hurt."

Ash was about to answer before he glanced at Tōshirō, whom appeared to be being hugged by the other Kurosaki. 'Hmm. It's almost like they planned this.' He thought. But the second Karin released Tōshirō, she glared furiously at them both.

"Now that that's over. Talk." Karin commanded once more. "And we only did that because you are our friends and, believe it or not, we care about your well being." She said in an unfamiliar tone. Both boys chose to ignore the sudden shift and got back to the main reason they were there.

"We kind of got into an accident. On the walk home, a drunk driver swerved and hit us. The doctors said it's a miracle that we're alive now." Tōshirō lied smoothly. Karin's eyes widen and Yuzu gasped. "We're sorry if we concerned you." He finished honestly.

"No need to apologize. Just be glad you're both ok. Did you ever find out who was it that hit you two?" Yuzu asked in her all to innocent voice. Ash didn't say anything, just shook his head. The bell rang shortly after that and Tōshirō beckoned for everyone to follow him to class, which they did but not after Ash narrowed his eyes on a black cat watching them from a nearby roof.

'Seriously?' He mouthed. The cat simply nodded and continued to stare directly into Ash's ruby eyes. He felt himself cringe a bit from the gaze but quickly rushed to class. Well not rush, but walk slightly faster than he usually did.

-After School-

"Well we have to go. Lots of work to catch up on." Ash said with a yawn. The Kurosaki twins were just done saying their goodbyes before one Isshin Kurosaki suddenly appeared. He looked as joyous as ever but also a bit edgy.

'Wow. Ichigo wasn't kidding. They have to power of a Fifth seat as humans." Isshin thought deeply. But he was so deep in thought however that he forgot he was smiling and just stood there smiling for the floor for about two minutes before be caught himself. 'They look so cute together.'

But almost as though Karin could read his mind, she kicked him in the chest. "Let's go!" She bellowed. Wasting little time, he quickly snapped out of his daze and hopped in the car.

"Bye sons!" He shouted out the departing brothers causing them to blush slightly in unison. Yuzu's face became bright red as did Karin's cheeks as Isshin laughed heartily.

"So, what is your choice?" The cat said once it appeared in front of the apathetic boys. Studying both eyes intently, the cat noticed the complete calm deep within the red and teal orbs. It gave her memories of a certain emotionless captain, with the worlds best poker face.

"We choose to keep our powers." Ash said casually. He brushed off the cat's chuckle and amused grin and patiently awaited a response.

"I like you two. Now if you want to keep your power, you must know how to control it. Tomorrow is Friday, meet me at the shop at 10:00 sharp. We'll begin your training." Without even waiting for the boys to process the new information, the cat vanished.

Tōshirō and Ash suddenly got a very bad feeling about this.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey. : Thank you to Sanaa11 for your review. ^^

Chapter 5:

Tōshirō woke up with a sigh this morning. He stayed up late last night trying to finish all the work he missed and thinking of everything he had been told the previous day. He had always been able to see ghosts but ignored them as they often spoke of their lives and they way it tragically ended. He found it amazing at first but then it slowly grew more and more annoying.

So lost in thought, Tōshirō failed to notice Ash walk into his room holding a tray with two tea cups on it. He handed Tōshirō the ice blue cup and set the tray down besides them both and took a sip. "It's 9:15. Wanna start getting ready?" He asked between sips. He didn't appear the least bit anxious for today's events. Tōshirō nodded and gave a quick thanks for the tea.

About half an hour later, the boys had begun there walk to the infamous shop. It was a nice, clear day. Clouds drifted listlessly in the shy while a nice breeze accompanied them. "We should go bother the Kurosaki's after this." Tōshirō said suddenly. Ash just made a noise of approval and continued walking until they arrived at their destination.

Arriving at exactly 10:00, Ash was going to knock on the shop's door before he heard the black cat meow behind him. He jumped slightly before turning around and staring at the mysterious feline. A look of curiosity flashed in his eyes as the creature suddenly vanished and reappeared on his left shoulder. Tōshirō's eyes barely registered the cat's movement before it disappeared again.

"Yoruichi. Can you stop playing with our guests?" The jolly shopkeeper said with a wide smile. Yoruichi simply rolled her eyes and casualty walked back to the once named Urahara. "I'm sure you have many questions boys. Let's begin."

Ash tilted his head sideways for a brief second to show his confusion but as I the writer intended this, Ichigo and Rukia came into the room. All three of the teen males sighed at the sight of one another but chose to remain silent. "Urahara-san. Are these the two boys you were talking about?" Rukia said with a slight gasp. With a quick smirk, the infamous shopkeeper nodded. "You do know what will happen right?"

Tōshirō scowled. "What will happen?" He said in an icy tone. Then suddenly the room's temperature seemed to fall dramatically. Kisuke and everyone noticed this and all subconsciously took a step back to avoid the white death ball.

"Calm down Shirō." The red eyed man said with a somewhat soothing tone. "No reason to get upset now is there?" He joked with a completely straight face. This amazingly calmed his brother down and also made him smirk a bit. "Now what will happen?" He said, turning to face the sheepish blond man.

"Oh nothing. It's just that since you three are so power, you'll probably be hunted down by the captains and your powers will be taken away." He said scratching the back of his head with a grin. Ash, Tōshirō and Ichigo stared on emotionlessly at the man but only Ichigo asked the question.

"How will they do that?" The orange haired teen asked with a scowl of annoyance. Kisuke's expression immediately went serious.

"That isn't why we're here. We're here to help out 'Yin-Yang' friends here."

Everyone felt the sudden atmosphere shift in the room but chose to ignore it and listen to the man. Even though neither Tōshirō nor Ash wanted to follow his instructions, they will now purely because they do not want another run in with a hollow. Ichigo on the other hand looked irritated by the man's vagueness.

"Calm down Kurōsaki. Just listen to him." Tōshirō said in a tone that suggested he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. "What do we have to do?"

"First time is free. Here, you and Ash-kun eat these." Urahara said, reaching behind his and and withdrawing two purple and white pills. "These will suppress your powers to normal human levels."

"And what are the side effects?" Ash asked with one eyebrow raised. Urahara looked very much offended at the question but Ash easily saw through it. "Nothing works that well without problems. So what will happen to us?" He reiterated.

"Smart guy. You'll feel nauseous, get migraines and feel incredibly weak." He said sheepishly.

"No. What's another option?" Tōshirō immediately responded with.

"Well…." He began whilst raising his fan in front of his growing grin. "You can learn how to suppress your power at will but it will take a while to perfect and you can control the duration of its effects." His tone sounded like he was ready to burst into joyous laughter.

Turning his head slightly to look at his older brother, Ash noticed than Tōshirō, like himself, had already made his decision. "Teach us how to." They said in unison with the same lazy tone. At this moment, a large man wearing glasses came into the room and handed Kisuke what appeared to be twenty dollars. He snickered for a second before leading the trio down to the basement.

"Wait. How come Ichigo isn't included in this?" The white haired teen asked suspiciously.

"Oh because I'm already in control of my powers. Look." He said and quick took Urahara's cane and press the base of it against his forehead. Neither brother could believe their eyes once Ichigo's body fell lifelessly to the floor and he stood over it wearing all black and with a large sword on his back.

Almost immediately, there seemed to be another presence in the room as Ichigo's soul continued to leak his power. It felt like a small child had been set on their shoulders and they felt a bit light headed.

"Please do ignore that boys. That's not control and that feeling you two are feeling like now. It feels like a weight huh? That's what is called reiatsu or spiritual pressure. That's what you two possess." The shopkeeper explained.

"So that's what the hollows are after." Ash affirmed.

"Yes it is and Ichigo and you two have exceedingly high reiatsu for humans. Soo we're going to help you control it." Kisuke said from behind his fan, (when did he get that).

"I would ask why but you don't seem like the one who would answer directly." Tōshirō said after a sigh and a brief pause. "Can we just begin?"

-Several hours later -

Shortly after Kisuke and Yoruichi gave them a long talk and explanation about the basics about reiatsu and how to control it, the trio of Ichigo, Ash and Tōshirō walked in silence towards the Kurōsaki residents. "Wait why are you two coming here?"

"Huh? Ash we drifted again." Tōshirō said with a groan. Ash snapped his head up as if he had just been slapped and sighed heavily.

"Hm, while we're here….how about we bother the twins?" Ash said a sinister smirk. Ichigo was about to yell his disproval towards that idea but stopped when he saw Tōshirō's ominous grin.

Sighing, the Kurōsaki brother just opened the door and prepared for a noisy evening.

**A/N: Sorry about the random hiatus but I went on vacation and didn't have time to write. Leave a review if you enjoyed. Rebel returns only to sign out. **


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for another review Sanaa11. ^^

Chapter 6:

"Dad I'm home." Ichigo announced as he walked through the front door with Ash and Tōshirō in tow. Without even looking up he dodged a drop kick from Isshin and as he was flying Ichigo, Tōshirō simply tapped Isshin ankle and let him continue to fly out the door.

"Does he always do that?"

"Sadly."

Ichigo sighed and went to his room as Ash and Tōshirō went to the couch. Shifting through the channels nobody expected Tōshirō to be suddenly hit in the back of the head with a soft object. Ash chuckled silently as Karin threw another pillow at Tōshirō with break neck speeds.

"Why are you two here?" Karin asked irritably. Her tone made Tōshirō smirk and it was apparently loud enough for Yuzu to hear her.

"Who are you talking to Kar-?" Yuzu said but cut herself off once she saw those deep ruby red eyes. "Oh. Hi guys." She said sheepishly with a growing blush.

"We came her to bother you guys." Ash said with a silent chuckle and a shrug. "Come sit and let's watch a movie."

"Wait. You two just come her unannounced, sit on our couch and then just casually say watch a movie?" Karin asked with a raised brow. After sharing a brief look with Ash, Tōshirō just shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Ok. I'll get the popcorn." Yuzu said enthusiastically. As she disappeared into the kitchen Karin simply shrugged and threw at Ash for no apparent reason. He chuckled as it hit him but said nothing. After a few minutes had pass, Yuzu reemerged with a large bowl of popcorn and plopped herself down on the floor.

"Sit here." The lazy raven haired teen said as he got up from the couch. Yuzu was about to protest before he smirked. "It's no problem Kita-kun. Yo-". "Just do it." He said more gentle then he ever said anything. Yuzu quickly realized that arguing with Ash would be pointless so just took his spot on the couch as he sat just below her.

"What do you wanna watch?" Karin asked.

"Anything is fine." 'Why do I feel like this will be a romance?'

A few brief moment, they eventually decided to watch _Titanic _but not without being joined by Ichigo and Rukia on the grounds that the strawberry wanted to keep an eye on his sisters. But everyone knew that he really liked that movie.

-Three hours and Lots of female tears later-

'Well that wasn't bad.' Tōshirō though as he scanned the room. Ichigo was just emerging from the kitchen with a glass of water, Rukia sat drowsily on the arm rest of the couch, Ash sat cross legged on the floor staring blankly at the movies' credits and finally Karin and Yuzu were sleeping. The only oddity Tōshirō saw was Yuzu's hand apparently stuck in Ash's hair.

"Let's go Ash, it's late." Tōshirō said with a sigh as he gently moved Karin's head from his shoulder. Ash got up slowly as to avoid himself physical pain and not to wake the sleeping girl. Both Ash and Tōshirō picked up their two female friends bridal style and Ash whispered to Ichigo.

"Ichigo-san, where are their rooms?"

Normally the strawberry would have been extremely upset to see his sisters in the arms of two boys but he liked Hitsugaya and Kita, plus he was also to tired to care. "Upstairs, last door on the left."

While carrying Karin and Yuzu, two things happened that almost made Ash and Tōshirō drop them. Karin suddenly locked her arms around Tōshirō neck and whispered "Shirō-kun" , at the same time Yuzu wrapped her slender arms around Ash's torso an push her face into his chest and whispered a bare audible "Don't leave".

After verifying that they were still asleep, the brothers raised their pace a little bit out of confusion. The walk felt like it lasted for hours. When they arrived in the Kurōsaki sisters room, it wasn't hard to distinguish which side belonged to who. Tōshirō tired to set Karin down but it was proving difficult because Karin had her arms wrapped rather tightly around his neck and with a quick glance it appeared that Ash was having similar problems.

Rolling his eyes, Tōshirō just whispered something into her ear and surprisingly it made her leg go, much to Ash's surprise and annoyance. Following his older brother, he whispered into Yuzu's ear. "Let go Yuzu-chan. I won't be gone long." The sleeping girl smiled and slowly released her death grip on the lazy Kita. "Let's leave quickly."

They left the room and closed the door as quietly as possible and did a speed walk down the stairs. Downstairs they saw Ichigo picking up Rukia's unconscious body the same way he and Ash had done before. "Don't forget Ichigo-san. We have to meet at Urahara's at 5:00. Come to our house tomorrow and we'll talk more then." Ash said as he finally noticed that the time was 2:00 am.

"Sure, where do you live?" "Here." Tōshirō said as he gave Ichigo a piece of paper with an address on it. "See you tomorrow Ichigo."

The long walk home had been very quiet and uneventful, aside from the occasional breeze. "We definitely need to do that more often." Tōshirō said with a rare smile. Ash returned the smile and nodded. "Yeah, it was fun."

"Umm Shirō, I think they like us."

"Probably." He replied with a shrug.

"I saw you and Karin tonight. With her inching closer to you." Ash said mischievously. Tōshirō blushed and turned his head away.

"I saw Yuzu playing with your hair."Tōshirō said back. Ash felt his face heat up and tilted his head down. "I didn't notice for a few minutes to be honest." "Yeah yeah."

Arriving home at 2:30 am, the boys quickly disrobed and hopped into their separate showers to get clean before bed. "Good night Shirō." "Good night Ash. It seems we have a long day tomorrow."

**A/N: sorry for a short chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you Sanaa11 and Molk-chan for your reviews. ^^

Chapter 7:

Waking up early the next morning, the Kurōsaki sisters were confused to find themselves in their own room and beds. 'How'd we get here?' both siblings thought as they recalled the events from last night, blushing at the memory. It had been the first time Ichigo allowed them to have male friends let alone, let them stay here and watch a movie. Yuzu rushed out of bed to hurry up and make breakfast before anyone else arose.

But when she go there, a full breakfast was made consisting of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Isshin and Ichigo were already feasting at the table when the tiny female came into view. "Morning Yuzu." Said the strawberry.

"What's all this?" She asked, fairly puzzled buy the food.

"Rukia made it! She's the best third daughter ever!" Isshin said with food filling his jaw. "Oh. Sorry I didn't make breakfast today guys." Yuzu said sadly.

"No problem honey. Everyone needs a break once in awhile." The Kurōsaki said head said loudly and happily. "You may want to get Karin before we eat everything." Ichigo quickly said as he got up.

"I'm here Ichi-nii. Where are you going so easy?" Karin asked with an eyebrow raised. Ichigo just ignored her suspicions and shrugged. "Ash and Tōshirō's house. We have somethings to discuss." He replied trying to not sound intimidated.

"How do you know where they live?" "What's with all the questions? Bye guys." Ichigo quickly said as he grabbed the piece of paper as broke off in a dead sprint. Leaving his angry sister's scream behind.

-At Tōshirō and Ash's house-

Ichigo was shocked at the sheer size of the boys home and didn't notice that Ash had randomly appeared in front of him. "Um Ichigo." Ash said trying to gain the orange hair's teen's attention. He noticed that he was failing and sighed.

SLAP!

Ichigo snapped back and screeched. "Got your attention? Good." Ash said with a lazy smirk. "Let's go, Shirō is waiting."

Ichigo scowled at Ash as he walked away as rubbed his red cheek, "Nice house you got here." He said as he was overwhelmed by the home that seemingly only Ash and Tōshirō lived in. Ash just ignored him and kept walking until they got to the kitchen.

He saw Tōshirō sitting at the counter eating his breakfast and Ash sit on the opposite side of him. A moment of silence had past before Tōshirō spoke. "So Ichigo….are you ready to train?" He asked with narrowed eyes. Tōshirō's stare alone made chill run through Ichigo. He simply nodded nervously and watched as Ash and Tōshirō finish breakfast and put on an overcoat.

"Let's go then." Ash said with a sigh.

-Urahara's Shop-

"Now, now boys. There are two ways we can do this. We can train in hakuda or zanjutsu. Your choice." 'We can start training now. They won't be ready for anything major but at least they will be able to handle themselves.' Urahara said in a happy tone, why? No one knows.

"Is there really no other way?" Ash questioned with only mild interest. But instead of waiting for an answer he knew would never come, he made his choice. "Hakuda." Tōshirō expected that.

"Zanjutsu."

"Good come with me Hitsugaya-kun. Kita-kun go with Yoruichi." Kisuke said cause Ash to raise a brow. "The cat?" Ash questioned with an eyebrow raised and his head tilted.

"Yes. The cat." Urahara said with a chuckle. At was at that moment Yoruichi entered the room and gestured for Ash to follow her. "Good luck Shirō." Ash said just before he and Yoruichi went to the large field behind the shop.

Tōshirō nodded and silently followed Kisuke to a large basement door. Tōshirō raised his eyebrow when he saw the massive door but said nothing when the shopkeeper's assistants came to help him move it. The white haired teen's eyes widened, much to Kisuke's amusement, at the sight of the massive underground training facility.

-Ash and Yoruichi-

Yoruichi liked to two boys, she honestly did but the silence for Ash was deafening. He hadn't even made a sound since he separated from Tōshirō, Yoruichi had to actually listen for Ash's footsteps despite them being on gravel. "Come on Ash! Speak up!" She said with a cat pout. (?)

"Sorry, there just isn't anything to say." Ash said as a reply.

"Well can I ask you a few things then?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Why did you choose Hakuda?" Yoruichi asked with slight curiosity.

"Hmm. Because I'm much more comfortable with my hands, though I can use a sword. Plus I'm quick." The raven haired teen said with humility. "Is that true? Can you fight?" Came Yoruichi's reply, dripping with interest.

The tone alone made Ash smirk. "You can say that."

"Well let's test that." Yoruichi suddenly said mischievously. There was a sudden puff of smoke, causing Ash to reflexively jump back. A few seconds later and the smoke cleared, revealing a slender, tan women. Her hair was long and purple; which oddly suit her gold eyes. She was quite beautiful to say the least but she was also naked.

"That scared me." Ash said calmly as he looked the human form of Yoruichi in her eyes.

Yoruichi herself was expecting the emotionless teen to have a funny reaction, but was disappointed and impressed that Ash didn't really care for her nudity and didn't break eye contact. He didn't even look like he was tempted!

"Care to put on clothes so we can start?" The teen said as he turned his back to her. 'At least he isn't a pervert." Yoruichi thought with a mental grin.

-Tōshirō and Kisuke-

"So Hitsugaya-kun. How good are you with a sword?" Kisuke asked like he didn't know.

"Good enough." Was Tōshirō's lazy response.

"Well. Catch!" The green clad man suddenly screamed as he tossed a sheathed sword at the white haired teenager. He caught it with great reflexes and quickly ducked, to avoid Kisuke taking his head off. He quickly unsheathed the blade and got into a defensive stance. "That was cheap." Tōshirō said with annoyance.

Urahara just ignored him and slashed at him once more, but this one was easily blocked by Tōshirō. He sent a sweeping kick to Urahara's legs and waited for the inevitable dodge. But instead of Kisuke jumping over it, like he expected, he stabbed the ground and did a handstand on the hilt of his sword.

Thinking quickly, Tōshirō spun on his palms to avoid severing his own foot. He flipped out of the way of Urahara's kick and slashed upwards at Hat n' Clogs. To Tōshirō's shock, Urahara just stepped on the blade and forced it into the ground, he then pointed the blade at Tōshirō's neck ad pinned him down. "Not bad Hitsugaya-kun." Kisuke said with a smile much to Tōshirō's annoyance.

"Not bad? You owned me."

"That's because you weren't prepared. Shall we try again.?" Kisuke said with a chuckle, earning a scowl from Tōshirō. "Of course." The teen said as he suddenly dashed at Kisuke with a speed that the man didn't expect. He gripped the sword tightly in his right hand and slashed down.

The hit had been much stronger than Urahara had expected and made his sword vibrant in his hand. The teen spun on his heel and attempted to roundhouse kick the man, but this proved useless as Kisuke just tapped Tōshirō kick away.

"Is this really necessary?" Tōshirō said, interrupting their training session for a brief moment.

"Why yes Hitsugaya-kun." 'This will be a good test for them' Tōshirō was about to ask another question but Urahara jumped at him with a powerful slash, making him swallow his words.

-Ash and Yoruichi-

"Are you ready Yoruichi-san?" Ash said as he got into a fighting stance. Yoruichi instantly recognized the Fighting Tiger stance and smiled widely.

"No need to be so formal. And yes I am." She responded and got into a stance that Ash didn't recognize. Yoruichi flew at the teen with a kick aimed at his stomach and prepared for Ash to dodge, but he didn't . He spun around, avoiding the kick and throwing an elbow as Yoruichi's moving form. This action both shocked and impressed her. She quickly pushed off the ground to propel herself into the air and avoid the elbow.

She jumped at him again but quickly than previous. He narrowly back flipped out of the way of a powerful elbow and sidestepped a kick by the tan woman, but Yoruichi's aassault didn't end there. She jumped high into the air and brought down an axe kick, (which was greatly held back in power). Ash however jumped decided to meet her attack with his own. He punched her foot and for the brief second, felt his entire being shake.

Yoruichi then attempted to kick Ash in the head, which wasn't successful, as Ash blocked it with a strong arm. She pushed herself off of his forearm and paused the fight by laughing in amusement.

"Very impressive Kita-kun. But by the look in your eyes…. you're holding back." Yoruichi said with a grin.

"Hmm. I am but so are you." Ash responded with a notable shift in the air around him.

"You're pretty good. Better than some people I've seen." She said, ignoring Ash's comment.

"Well shall we continue?"

"Indeed we shall."

**A/N: Hey guys. I know that they can just use Kidō to suppress their power but Kisuke wants them to hit a point where they can just do it mentally. The point being when they can actually feel it because right now they are just aware of it and can't do anything with it. A few more chapters till the SS arc starts I think ;) so stay tuned and as for why Ichigo isn't training with them…. He doesn't need to. Rebel signing out.**


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you Kris Awesomeness, Sanaa11 and that guest for your reviews. It motivates me to update faster. ^^

-Several hours later-

Tōshirō and Ash walked from the Urahara's shop at twilight, just as the sun was hiding behind the horizon. It had been a long, productive day but they somehow weren't tired at all. They actually felt more revitalized, stronger and faster. It felt amazing.

Their home had not been a far walk away but the boys tended to drift off into thought and not pay attention to their surroundings. Thankfully they only went a block past their home before they caught themselves.

"Shirō. I feel like there is something that Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san aren't telling us." Ash said, finally breaking their comfortable silence.

"Hm. I think so to, why else would they train us for no apparent reason? They don't seem genuinely concerned for our wellbeing." Tōshirō responded with a yawn.

"Damn. We have school tomorrow." Ash said was a disgusted tone. Tōshirō visibly paled then shook his head slowly.

"I completely forgot we went there." He said honestly. "I don't blame you. From discovering that we have amazing powers, and having to deal with hollows….it's hard to remember what is the value of x when 2x + 5= 15." Tōshirō chuckled at that then they both lapsed back into silence.

It had been a very tiring month for the 15 year old brothers. They made friends with a strawberry of death, they met someone named Rukia, who seemed very uncomfortable around them, and Tōshirō noticed that their friendship with the Kurōsaki sisters had been slowly progressing further and further. Not that he'd nor Ash really would mind.

-The next day-

Today had been as uneventful but now was Ash's favorite class: P.E.

Despite being as lazy as a sloth that just ate a buffet, Ash still liked P.E cause he could just watch Tōshirō own everyone in dodgeball and Karin own everyone in Soccer. Brought him some joy to see his brother and friend over achieve in the sports, not that he would ever show it. Yuzu never really participated in any sport, she just sat next to Ash and watch Tōshirō and Karin compete. Not the Ash disliked the idea.

The red eyed teen excused himself to the bathroom, and it seems that he was being followed by four people. Ash got done washing his hands when Kagawa and his group entered the bathroom with a malicious grin plastered on his face. "I told you I'd get you back. Get him."

Ash just stared emotionlessly at the boys beginning to surround him and thought to himself. 'Idiots..' The first boy jumped at Kita with a fist aimed t his face, but Ash just mentally smirked. He caught the boy's wrist and used his momentum to slam him into the wall. A second member of Kagawa's crew grabbed Ash's arm in an attempt to restrain him but that did not go as planned.

The raven haired teen simply used his superior strength to pull the bully closer to him. He gave the teen a knee to the stomach causing him to double over and fall. Those two exchanges happened in the space of two seconds, unintentionally showcasing Ash's amazing reflexes. Before Kagawa had fully realized what happened, two of his best fighters had fallen.

"Fuck you KITA!" The rotund teen said as more boys crowded into the spacious bathroom. Everyone in the gym had heard the profanity and turned towards the bathroom just as a random boy flew threw the door. Tōshirō immediately spotted Ash through the crowd of boys and rushed to his aid. Even though he knew he didn't really need it.

-Principle's Office-

"Sixteen boys. Four broken noses. Three broken wrists. Two boys with cracked ribs. Five black eyes. And two concussions." The principal said with exasperated sigh. "Look boys, what you did today was inexcusable. I'm afraid that you two are suspended for two weeks."

Both Tōshirō and Ash's eyes widen but just as Tōshirō was about to protest, the principal angrily stopped him. "Leave my office! Now!"

Swallowing his argument, Tōshirō and Ash angrily stormed out of the office to quickly retrieve their stuff from home room, but Karin and Yuzu had been waiting outside with their things just in case things got bad. "Thanks." Ash said as he took his book bag from Yuzu.

"What happened?" Karin said with concern.

The two brothers shared a look and sighed in perfect unison. "We got suspended for two weeks." Ash braced himself for an overreaction. He was not disappointed.

"WHAT?! They can't do that! You didn't do anything!" Karin roared, with a hostile aura surrounding her. Tōshirō wisely took a step back and sweat-dropped lightly. Ash did the manly thing and his behind Yuzu .

"Karin calm down." Tōshirō said as soothingly as he could have. He didn't expect for the girl to actually calm down but surprisingly she did.

"Fine." She said with a low growl. "When do you have to leave?"

"Right now actually." Ash spoke from behind his quiet friend. "We'll probably go to your house at some point." Kita confirmed before he and Hitsugaya said their goodbyes and walked out the school.

-An Hour later-

The two teenagers figured that they should probably care that they just crippled sixteen people in a fight that lasted two minutes but honestly didn't. They were more focused on that fact that this suspension gave them time to train with Urahara. "Oi Shirō. What do we do once we control our spiritual power?" Ash asked as the shop came into view.

"Don't know." Tōshirō replied casually with a shrug.

-One week later-

It didn't take long for the boys to fall into a daily routine. It had went like this: wake up, brush teeth, shower, head to Urahara's shop and train until sundown, head to Ichigo's house and stay there with the strawberry, Rukia (whom had developed a decent bond between us and Ichigo) and the Kurōsaki twins, then finally head home at about 10 pm. Then repeat the cycle the next day.

Their friendship with Karin and Yuzu had developed quite a bit as time grew and they noticed. All the contact, all the ways to get closer, all the irregular breathing, all the quickening heartbeats (mainly Tōshirō's heart) and all the stares. It was nice to see the girls daily to say the least.

The training had gotten more and more intense since day one. Since learning what shinigami are, it seemed that Urahara and Yoruichi had stopped holding back. Urahara reluctantly explained what a zanpakuto was and how to obtain one. The occasional hollow would rear its ugly head into view, only to be taken down by either Ichigo, Ash or Tōshirō.

They finally reached the point the Urahara had set for them. This was easily noticeable when Tōshirō suddenly started to glow white in a training session with Kisuke and sent him threw a wall. Kisuke mentality noted the extreme waves of cold wafting off the boy and just deduced that his reiatsu and zanpakuto is ice based.. Ash had also reached this point when a black aura with a white outline surrounded him one day.

Yoruichi was extremely surprised that his spiritual pressure was indeed black. In all her years of living she had every other color but black and it was accompanied by heat. Extreme heat. So extreme that the ground he was standing on at the time had been burned to ashes. Ironically funny indeed.

Now sitting next to Ash in the middle of Urahara's large training room, Tōshirō cleared his mind and tried to do as he was told. "Now boys. Just picture yourselves sitting in the middle of an endless ocean, notice how the water just keeps flowing away from you. Now I want you to envision that all the water is slowly surrounding you like you're its center." Yoruichi said in a hushed voice as she also sat cross legged next to Ash and Tōshirō.

Urahara expected that it would take more than a day for them to perfect the art of suppressing one's true power but it seemed that he was wrong once again with the pair. The boys were incredible on multiple levels. Having already heard their zanpakuto spirits , albeit barely and having amazing spiritual control was truly baffling to Kisuke. Ichigo may have been a physical monster but these guys were just….wow.

Suddenly the power surrounding Tōshirō and Ash had disappeared completely, almost un-sensible to even a captain level shinigami. The boys were truly prodigious. No doubt about that.

Only one more step before the real training can commence. "Congratulations boys. You've learned how to suppress your power!" Urahara said happily. "But there is still much to do." His words cost both brothers to raise a brow.

Yoruichi put a glove one with the symbol of a skull surrounded by blue flame. Urahara's cane had the same insignia on it and they both "pushed" the boys. While Kisuke only gently prodded Tōshirō's chest, Yoruichi slapped Ash right on the cheek for no apparent reason. Ash yelped and rubbed his cheek but then felt…..weird.

"Um Shirō…." He began but when he faced Tōshirō, his eyes widened heavily. There were two….of him connected by some kind of chain. He hesitated in looking down but did anyway…

"What the hell did you do to us Urahara?!" Tōshirō demanded angrily. "Easy Hitsugaya-kun. We just turned you two into spirits." Before anyone could question him further, he sliced both chains in half with one brisk movement. Almost instantly it started to deteriorate.

"What will happen once it runs out?" Ash asked somehow remaining calm on the surface.

"You'll turn into hollows and we'll have to kill you." This was the first time Ash had seem Urahara serious. "Normally it'll take three days but I coat my sword in a special liquid to make it do so in three minutes."

Both boys were naturally calm and level-headed and so never really panicked for anything normal. This was not normal. Tōshirō looked like he was about to kill Urahara and everything he stood for and Ash's anger was directed at the fact that Kisuke had _took their soul out of their bodies _and _would kill them if they didn't find a solution for the problem he caused._

They completely forgot they they were suppressing their reiatsu and all the raw spiritual pressure came to the surface. Tōshirō had begun to glow white just as his eyes, at the same moment Ash had the black waves of power wafting off his body. They kept raising their reiatsu in rage until the chains completely disappeared.

A sudden flash of light appeared in the room directly around the two enraged brothers, then suddenly it went out leaving behind a picturesque sight. Tōshirō stood proud and tall with a long sword in his right hand. It's hilt had been shaped like a four pointed star. The white haired teen looked at the sword in satisfaction and smirked. "Hyōrinmaru." He whispered.

Ash was down on one knee with the tip of his sword in the ground as if to support him. His sword was long, black and sleek with its hilt being shaped like a diamond. "Kurai Honō.." He whispered with a rare smile. Both boys were in traditional shinigami attire; which seem to suit them more than normal clothes.

**A/N: Well Zanpakuto's are revealed. I skipped the whole entering the inner world thing because I'll use that elsewhere… But anyway I've never said Tōshirō and Ash's height in comparison. Ichigo is 5'9, Tōshirō and Ash are 5'6 and Karin and Yuzu are 5'2. Also Ash and Tōshirō's zanpakuto are sealed because they can control their reiatsu unlike Ichigo's whose sword is always in shikai. And lastly….. Ash looks like Ggio Vega and his hair is like Dangai Ichigo's.**


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you Heidi, Stryboy, Alchemist1000, and my two most active readers Sanaa11 and Kris Awesomeness for your reviews. ^^

Chapter 9: 

-Exactly one month later-

Ever since that faithful day, Tōshirō and Ash's eyes were open to a whole new world that they barely knew existed. As pseudo-shinigami they fought hollows along side Ichigo an Rukia. They formed an incredible bond with him an the often hung out with his family when they had free time. He had also learned of Rukia's true identity and understood why she was so distant when first meeting them.

She had apparently given Ichigo all of her spiritual pressure by mistake and turned him into the monster that he is now. But now her powers were back and she joined the trio in killing any and all hollows that dared come to Karakura.

Now that all the training and hollow killing had been done for today Tōshirō and Ash decided to visit their good friends Karin and Yuzu. Tōshirō honestly couldn't believe that he and Ash had planned to do such a thing but smirked at the outcome. There was one of two ways this can end: very good or very badly. Either way they were going through with the plan Shirō himself came up with.

Following Ichigo into the living room, the boy stoned their expressions and solidified their nerves. They calmly awaited for Karin ad Yuzu to enter the room so they put their plans into action. Tōshirō had spoken on his and Ash's behalf to Isshin about this and was glad that the father Kurōsaki approved. If he hadn't….this would probably still happen.

Speaking of Isshin, he and his two daughters came into the room together. The raven haired adult saw the mop of white hair and the emotionless ruby eyes he couldn't help but feel proud. He still was spiritually aware and kept in contact with Urahara ever since he first met the kind but blank brothers so he knew that they were more than capable of protecting his dearest daughters.

They were great at hiding it to. Right now, he had to strain himself just to sense the great power these two were effortlessly containing.

He led Ichigo from the living room and ensured that they were indeed alone. Or they believed they were alone, cause Isshin was always watching. _Always._

"Hey guys. What do you need?" Karin asked as he took a seat next to her white haired companion. Yuzu was about to sit before Ash gently grabbed her hand.

"We can't stay long. Just came to do something." Tōshirō said mysteriously. Before Karin could question him further, the white haired teen leaned forward. Ash took this moment to lightly tug Yuzu closer to him.

'Wha-?' Yuzu half questioned as her body fully pressed against his. His warmth alone almost fully distracted her from the situation at hand. She felt her heart rate accelerate to almost extreme levels. She took a brief glance into Ash's eyes to see passion and caring, this was the first time she had seen any type of emotion in his beautiful, almost hypnotic eyes.

Karin really was faring any better. As she saw Tōshirō lean in, in almost slow motion, she paused and thanked anything that can be thanked that this was actually happening. She didn't want to admit it but she had grown very fond of the white haired heartthrob that was Tōshirō Hitsugaya. He was just to gorgeous to be real, and it was really unfair that he and Ash got all the beauty in the world.

She was apparently so deep in thought that she didn't notice Tōshirō raising her head to be in line with his. He continued to lean in for what seemed to be an eternity…

Yuzu thought she might've burst into flames. There was no way that this was actually happening now. Her expression berated her disbelief. Until….

"Yuzu-chan." Ash whispered with his velvety smooth voice. He put her palm on his chest for her to feel his heart, and apparently she wasn't the only one who had trouble controlling their heart. "See what you do to me…?" He whispered once again.

Ok. That's it. Anymore and Yuzu would probably have died right then and there. Kita pulled back from her ear and with no hesitation at all, leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips. Yuzu's eyes bulged open in shock until she fully realized what was happening. But before she could close her eyes and enjoy the moment, it was over.

Tōshirō finally captured Karin's lips in a kiss that seemed to stop time. Her eyes widen dramatically just as her sister's had a nanosecond ago but she was at least somewhat prepared and quickly closed her eyes and returned the surprise kiss. But it really ended to quickly for her taste.

Yuzu just stared blankly into Ash for a brief moment before the red eyes teen flicked her forehead. "Um Yuzu-chan…" Ash was afraid that he just broke the poor girl and wondered how it was possible to fully blank out from a kiss. Just as Tōshirō pulled away from Karin, Ash knew what he had to do. After all they planned everything to a T.

"**KITA! HITSUGAYA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTERS?!" **Ichigo bellowed, apparently having just witnessed that whole…ahem…..session. This suddenly scream of rage caused Yuzu to snap out of her trancelike state and snap her head towards the now ajar door. Ash, Tōshirō or ever Ichigo were seen, though she faintly remembered that all three were here at _some _point.

"Karin…what just happened?" Yuzu questioned, sounding confused about the last 4.5 seconds of her life.

"Great things sis… Great things." Karin said casually. "Wait does this mean we're couples now?" Karin sounded puzzled.

"I-I don't know really."

-The High speed chase-

They had long since left their physical bodies; having left them at the boys home.

"For Kami's sake Ichigo! Calm down!" Tōshirō yelled as Ichigo continued to shunpo after them.

"You're both DEAD!" Ichigo once again yelled. Ash just sighed and continued to shunpo until reaching a large park clearing. He turned around and threw a fake punch at Ichigo's stomach, which was easily dodged. 'Good. Now the beast is after me.' Ash thought before shunpoing down to the empty park.

He waited patiently for Ichigo to land before he shunpoed away at a speed far faster than what he had been using previously. Ichigo's eyes widen significantly at Ash's sudden speed and he barely noticed the teen in front of him clad in all white.

-Tōshirō and Ash-

"Ok I made it." Ash said with satisfaction. He suddenly appeared next to Tōshirō, whom had hidden in a tree so he could observe Ichigo. The man in white had taken a "pill" out of his coat pocket and held it high above his head.

"What the hell?" Tōshirō mumbled as he narrowed his eyes on the object. After a few moments of speaking, the teen crushed the pill. Within minutes, the sky was filled with a seemingly infinite number of hollows. Ash gasped for a second before shunpoing directly between Ichigo and the glasses wearing teen.

"What the fuck man?!" Ash bellowed as he withdrew his sword.

"Another shinigami." The boy said in disgust. Ash ignored his tone and shunpoed to Tōshirō.

"Can you use your shikai?" He asked. Tōshirō replied with a simple nod but just as he was about to release it, he heard yelling.

"Oi Ichi-nii! Don't kill them!" Karin yelled from just outside of the park. Yuzu suddenly tackled her and screamed. "WATCH OUT!"

She got up slowly to see several large hollows surrounding them, with raw malicious intent being blatantly obvious. "You two aren't much but it's a nice snack!" The largest one in front said with an ominous cackle.

He swooped down and attempted to eat the twins who were paralyzed from fear. He got within two meters before….

BOOM!

The beast suddenly flew off into a building that had been a good distance away. Ash glowered the beast and faced the large mob in front of him with practiced indifference. "Ash?" Karin said with widened eyes. Ash didn't turn to face her, he simply spoke silently. "Get them to the shop quickly Shirō." His tone as calm as ever.

Suddenly something picked up the twins and carried them to a place where they've never been. Fortunately Kisuke and crew were already outside and fending off the sudden army of hollows. "Protect them Urahara." Tōshirō said with an icy tone. He left before anyone could say or do anything.

He arrived back to Ash's aid in record time only to be met with an expected sight. Ash stood in a exactly where Tōshirō left him but his sword was drawn and it was dripping blood. The red eyed teen didn't have a single scratch on him. "Hm. 15 points for me and I have yet to release my shikai."

"How do we explain this?" Tōshirō questioned as he swung his sword and cased 4 hollows to fall.

"Shirō…..we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

**A/N: Sorry for the length. But the amount of reviews made me update faster. Question: Do you want to see the fight against the hollows or shall I just skip it? Choice is yours. Next chapter I'll explain how Karin and Yuzu could not only see hollows but also see Ash and Tōshirō. **


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks everyone for all your reviews. ^^ Now popular vote is that people wanna see the fight scene. So here ya go. :)

Chapter 10:

"Let's go to Ichigo." Tōshirō said with narrowed eyes. Ash nodded and quickly dodged a large cero aimed at his chest. He countered the cero with a powerful one handed slash across the hollow's chest. He muttered a number the vaguely sounded like 20 before hi reiatsu began to form around him. Tōshirō noticed this and allowed his own power to leak as well.

"Ready?" Ash said as he stared blankly at the terrifyingly large line of hollows directly in front of them. Tōshirō grunted his reply and they both shot off into the fray, leaving only a visible trail of power behind them. One by one, all the hollows brave enough to get into their path fell, their only remnants being a faint scream of agony before they were burned to ashes or frozen solid. Ichigo wasn't shocked by this display of power; in fact he saw it as a challenge. A challenge he would gladly accept. He held his impossibly large blade high above his head and, with one swing, cleaved five hollows down.

Ash and Tōshirō kept up the mysterious technique for a short period before coming out of the lines of light. From above the attacks had made a checkerboard pattern and killed everything and anything unfortunate enough to be in its general area. "Shirō. I'm up to twenty-one." Ash said with his typical lazy demeanor. "I'm at twenty-four."

"I'm not going to lie, but I'm pretty tired. I can go longer but not without my shikai." Ash declared as he narrowly avoided being run through by a small but agile hollow. These hollow were definitely getting more powerful but the change was gradual and it allowed them to use the absolute minimum force needed. Right now they were fighting at approximately 75% of their base power, but the waves weren't slowing down.

"Me too. But Urahara said not to as it'll put us on the shinigami's radar. Just fight for now." Tōshirō replied with beads of sweat dripping down his cheeks.

He turned his teal eyes to his immediate left and just barely caught sight of the man that did this. He looked far more exhausted than he or Ash and looked as though his powers were at their peak and still required multiple shots from his bow to ensure a kill. 'That idiot! If the hollows don't get him, I will!' Hitsugaya silently proclaimed with a sharp glare at the drained teen.

A glare that would be noticed and returned.

-At Urahara Shoten-

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!" Karin shouted as she and Yuzu watched in awe as two people, about the same age as them, took down these massive monsters. That is until a large man came into view with his sunglasses catching the sweat from his brow. With a silent chant, an opaque barrier appeared around the shop's area. Karin couldn't fully see the barrier but could tell it was there by two things. 1. Being the air appeared distorted and 2. The freaking monsters couldn't get in.

"Now now Kurosaki-San. No need for the language." The man clad in all green so happily declared. Karin sent him the famous Kurosaki glare and ignored the man. She turned her attention to her twin, who had been silent the whole ten or so minutes they were there.

"Yuz. Are you ok?"

"Ash and Tōshirō are out there." Yuzu's voice was no higher than a whisper. Karin's eyes widen as she fully remembered the events that took place before they got here. They were looking for Ash, Tōshirō and…..

"Ichi-nii is out there too!" She suddenly bellowed, startling everyone. Now, no Kurosaki ever panicked for anything at all but at this moment Karin and Yuzu couldn't even breathe properly let alone think straight.

"Calm down." The cat supported. "Those three are fine. Trust me, it's gonna take a lot to kill anyone of those guys."

But the entire sentence was seemingly unheard as both sisters suddenly yelled "KILLED!" in nervously.

-Back with the fight-

Before Ichigo could fully realized what was happening, more then a dozen hollows descended on him, leaving him trapped in a circle. He was feeling somewhat fatigued and knew that he couldn't beat all of these things without sustaining at least some kind of major injury. They all pounced at once cause the orange-headed teen to swipe horizontally on instinct and just hoping that his back doesn't hurt to bad in the morning.

He felt a pool of blood splash on his back and hastily turned around to an unexpected sight.

Tōshirō stood behind with his sword emitting an icy smog. Blood just seemed to freeze and fall off the blade. "Watch yourself Kurosaki." Tōshirō warned in a slightly commanding voice, causing a chill to run down Ichigo's spine.

"Yeah thanks." He replied somewhat shakily.

Suddenly a massive shadow loomed over them, almost completely blocking out the intense rays of the sun. "Whoa….." Ichigo gaped in awe. Tōshirō's eyes widened and his mouth feel agape as he tried to fully comprehend the monster's size.

From his position atop a building Ash almost lost his balance from shock. He instantly spotted his brother's white hair and went to shunpo towards him but was stopped by a hollow that almost resembled a giant ape. "Hello boy." The hybrid sneered out with a creepy grin plastered to his face. Before Ash could blink, he was punch in the stomach…_hard. _He puked up some blood before being thrown far back into his brother's direction.

"That is just huge." Ichigo commented as the behemoth raised its ginormous foot to take a step. Tōshirō glared and braced for impact before there was a resounding BOOM! Not far behind them.

He spun on his heal and pointed his sword at whatever just arrived but lowered it the instant he saw those red eyes. Ash rested on one knee with his sword apparently keeping him up and his eyes half lidded. "That hurt." He said half-heartedly. Tōshirō was by his side in a second ad glare furiously at the direction from wence he came.

"**REIGN OVER TH-**...!" Tōshirō began before Ash grabbed his sleeve.

"No! We can't do that here!" Ash was a teen that very seldom yelled and for him to yell, and at Tōshirō no less, was truly a moment defining situation. "How are you still calm?" Tōshirō suddenly questioned causing Ash's eyebrow to go up.

"Why aren't you?" Ash shot back. Tōshirō briefly pondered the question before realizing a few things. One being that he was very out of character. Two being that even though he and Ash have been "brothers" for as long as he could remember, he never really noticed that Ash's composer never broke aside from a minor blush. It's funny how well you may think you know a person and yet they can still somehow surprise you.

The white-haired teen calmed his nerves and quietly cursed himself for allowing his emotions to control him for an moment.

"You're right."

After a quick sigh from both teens, Ash stood up and sheathed his blade causing Tōshirō to mirror his previous action. "What? It's time for me to fight seriously." The raven-haired Kita said with a small shrug.

-Across the battlefield-

Ichigo had gotten over his initial surprise and was now thinking of a way he could kill this thing and not his Karakura town wiped out of existence.

"Kurosaki." The boy named Uryu spoke from slightly behind him. "Watch as I show you the full extent of my power." He proclaimed as a gust of wind shot out of his body.

"The extent of it?"

"Yes the extent of it. I've been holding back the entire time."

"Really? I've been at 100% since the moment you called me here." Ichigo's words stunned the boy. 'What? He doesn't seemed the least bit exhausted at all. Despite him fighting as much, if not more, hollows than me! Kurosaki Ichigo, you are truly an amazement.'

"You need to tap into your full power Kurosaki." Uryu said as he adjusted his glasses.

"My what?"

-Across the battlefield-

Ash blocked a powerful blow from the suddenly very powerful hollow with a pinch of his own making a shockwave burst forth from the impact. Their fist stood connected for a moment before they both vanished from sight with their respective techniques. There was suddenly several large shockwaves that appeared in the sky from seemingly no where for a short period of time before both fighters reappeared; neither of which sporting a scratch.

Ash jumped forth and sent a roundhouse kick the monster's stomach causing it's "eyes" to widen and at Kita's sudden speed. His kick connected and he cause the hollow to over in agony before he growled and glared furiously at Ash. He then disappeared and reappear near a shop that just so happened to have swords on display in its window. A roar was all it took to make the glass shatter and for the monster to grab a shiny silver sword from its place on the sword rack. Ash sighed then surprising sat down with his legs crossed.

The beast didn't bother to question why and just lounged at the prone teenager like killing him would make him a long. But before he even got within five feet of Ash, the white-haired sibling appeared.

CLANG!

The sounds of the swords connecting echoed loudly through the vast, almost hauntingly quiet park.

Tōshirō sent powerful blow after blow to the hollow causing it to good on the complete defensive. The hollow noticed that it was out matched in everything that could possibly be considered and began to flee in fear. But Hitsugaya didn't allow that to happen.

The beast dropped its weapon and made a beeline for the large hole in the cloudless sky. Tōshirō used his advantageous speed to suddenly appeared a few meters in front of this poor nameless hollow. He swept it's legs and kicked it upwards as it was falling towards the slightly damaged earth. He jumped up and use a shunpo to get higher above the still ascending hollow. He turned his sword into reverse grip and spoke quietly. "Dragon's Descent."

He shot down at the beast and easily bisected the poor creature with a cold, emotionless state. Not missing a beat, he shunpoed to Ash and smacked him in the back of the head.

Ash just grunted in pain and rubbed his developing bruise. "Why?" His tone icy.

"You could have easily killed that hollow and you know it."

"You hit me because I was having a little fun?" His tone got so icy, that the air seemed to become visible.

"No I hit you because of this!" Tōshirō suddenly exclaimed. He gestured to the minor cuts and scrapes on Ash's visible body. "Look I know you're whole back but please don't hold back to much. Had you fought seriously, you would be clean." Hitsugaya chastised.

Ash looked down at his body and sighed. "Yuzu will be mad…" Tōshirō couldn't help but smirk at that but the moment didn't last long. There was suddenly an _enormous _wave of power that washed over them. They both had to raise their own reiatsus to eliminate the minor discomfort.

"Damn Ichigo." Ash said, sounding a bit impressed.

The creature identified as a Menos Grande, whom all but ignored Ichigo and all the fights that went down turned its full attention to the abnormal teen. It opened its mouth and began to charge a beam of condensed reiatsu in front of its gaping maw. Ichigo saw this immediately and raised his reiatsu to extreme lengths, all but forcing Uryu to his knee and made him gasp for breath.

The beam immediately dissipated and the creature made a sound of what seemed to be fear. It's head suddenly got contorted as it somehow slowly but surely went back into the portal from wence it came.

-The Shoten-

All the hollows slowly began to disappear into the void and the barrier was even more slowly let down.

'Well that _definitely _alerted Soul Society. But at least Kita and Hitsugaya suppressed theirs at the last moment so maybe the old man won't be to suspicious.' Urahara thought with a tone of interest.

"Finally." The red haired boy exclaimed as he took off his sweaty shirt directly in front of Yuzu Kurosaki. The girl herself easily averted her eyes and worry began to over take her features. "Hey, my name is Jinta." The boy tried to introduce himself but he was very clearly being ignored. "Oi." He tried again and once again got no response.

He waved his hand in front of her eyes and caused her to jolt back in surprise. _Coincidentally _he had positioned himself in such a way that she would fall on to his chest and into his arms had his plan succeed. He was not disappointed.

Yuzu laid chest to chest with the the red-headed boy and blushes madly as she realized fully what position she was in. Karin had her eyes glued to the cat as it spoke corny joke and she failed to notice that three people had entered the premises. Two of which being extremely furious.

Ash cleared his throat loud enough to gain everyone's attention. He saw Yuzu on top of that _boy _and immediately lost all sense of his control. The second he locked eyes with the girl he vanished at an incredible pace, the wind alone almost fully blowing everyone away. Yuzu squealed in shock and quickly got up to try at least see Ash's general direction but failed to be quick enough.

"WHAT WAS GOING ON IN HERE?" Ichigo is bellowed as the Tōshirō, Karin and Ichigo turned their glares onto the lone red-head. Then everything got cold, _very cold. _Within a second, Tōshirō hovered dangerously above Jinta with his sword a centimeter away from the boy's throat.

"What happened?!" Tōshirō seethed through gritted teeth.

Jinta became paralyzed with fear when he connected eyes with Tōshirō. The only thing he saw in those teal orbs were fire and murder.

"W-well she f-f-f-fell! Yes that it! S-she fell!" Jinta's voice was filled to the brim with desperation and plea.

"HOW?!" Tōshirō shouted.

Jinta figured that lying would probably not be good for him in the long run, so he just told part of the truth."I-i-I kinda wanted her to notice me…..so I maybe scared her…"

"You did WHAT?!" Karin said as she began to shake as she tried to contain her anger. "THAT GUY WHO JUST LEFT WAS HER BOYFRIEND!"

Jinta's eyes widen to almost impossible levels. "ASH KITA IS HER BOYFRIEND?!" He sounded as thought he knew what he was going up against and he didn't like it one bit.

"ENOUGH!" Urahara surprisingly yelled. It took a lot to annoy Kisuke but I guess to stares a lined perfectly. He quickly tapped the bottom of his cane to Karin's forehead and made her lose consciousness instantly. He quickly shunpoed to the distressed twin sister and did the same and got the same result.

"WHAT THE FUCK URAHARA?!" Ichigo bellowed as he charged at Kisuke, primed to end him before a large puff of smoke sent him sailing through a wall.

"ICHIGO!" Yoruichi yelled. "HE WIPED THEIR MEMORIES BECAUSE THEY WERENT MEANT TO SEE ANY OF THIS! CALM DOWN!"

From the corner he sat in, Tessai turned his iPod up to the max volume and continued to pretend as though he were paying attention.

-A few moments later-

"Now then…Jinta is basically dead." Kisuke said cheerfully.

Yoruichi agreed.

"Sadly no he isn't. Ash isn't the type of guy to fight for stuff, but then again he really liked Yuzu so I'm not entirely sure." Tōshirō said as he finally calmed his nerves.

"Where is he anyway?" Ichigo asked to which Tōshirō just sighed.

"I don't really know, Ive never seen him so angry at anything before."

'Well today was an eventful one. Ash where ever you are, hurry home ok? It won't be easy for anyone to explain why Yuzu's Ash-kun suddenly disappeared without a trace. But at least now we can plan to confess to them in a better, less bold way.'

**A/N- Some thoughts from Tōshirō at the end. Sorry for the extremely long wait for this one but my PC broke and I wanted to tell those who reviewed via a thank you replay but couldn't cause they're guests. I'll try to make it up to you and if anyone of you want/care you can ask me a question and I'll answer it as compensation for the long wait. Rebel signing out.**


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry these are taking so long to update…but I'm busy. T^T

Chapter 11:

-The next day-

"Oi."

Ash grunted a reply.

"Get up. It's time for school." Tōshirō commanded the teen. Said teen just groaned in annoyance. From the sound of that groan, Tōshirō rolled his eyes and prepared himself.

"But Shirooooo. Do we have to?" Ash whined completely unmoving. Tōshirō sighed.

"Yes! You do!" And then proceeded to physically drag Ash out of his bed, causing him to land flat on his back.

"You're mean." He replied still unmoving. Tōshirō really hated Ash at times like this, but then he got an idea. "Well Yuzu could be with Jinta now." He jested, hoping that it would be incentive for his brother to rise.

Ash stood up a bit quicker than he expected with an annoyed sigh. "Fine. I'll start breakfast, and by the way…" he paused as he walked past the smug Hitsugaya. "Karin could be with Kagawa." His words hurt, they really did. But then Tōshirō realized something.

"She's not. I know this because cause it's 5:30 am."

"Right, because cheating takes place during business hours." The sarcasm in Ash's voice was almost visible.

"Shut up and it's go."

Ash couldn't help but smirk at his brothers reaction but the moment of happiness quickly left. He began to think about what may happen today and how he might deal with confronting Yuzu again after the incident, that she doesn't remember and was supposedly not her fault. It might not be awkward for her but for him it will be agony. But this was nothing new for him… It seems like today he would have to put on his mask. The same one that Yuzu Kurosaki so effortlessly took off, the same one he uses in his life to remain calm and indifferent.

The same one he always wore…..

-At school-

Tōshirō and Ash arrived at school earlier than expected. Much earlier. It was so early in fact that no one was there. Ash glared at Shirō was such ferocity that the white haired teen swore he would burst into flames at any given moment. He wasn't in the best of moods already and this only served to intensify his irritation.

"Ash, we need to talk about this." Tōshirō said somberly. He got the brotherly look in his eyes meaning one thing, now they can be themselves.

"We don't need to talk about anything." Ash tried to remain emotionless.

"Ash I can see that it's bothering you. Look at the ground." And Ash did and was surprised at the sight. The grass below him was black and burned with a scent of ashes in the atmosphere.

Ash heaved a sigh. "Damn it."

"Now you see? We need to talk."

"No we don't! Had it been Karin, you would've been all depressed."

"…"

"Look Shirō, I really want to talk about it…but you know how I am when I'm mad…"

"Enough. We'll talk when we get home.." Ash nodded. "Thanks."

It wasn't long after that that students started arriving at school, each with puzzled looks as the gazed upon the floor beneath the Hitsugaya/Kita brothers. Apparently Tōshirō's reiatsu had reacted naturally to Ash's and it made a thin layer of frost just a few meters from his feet. The ground below Kita had become jet black and brittle, this only further emphasized the "opposites attract" message the boys already. All the kids unfortunate enough to try and question the teens about the surrounding area were answered with stares and silence with a silent threat floating around.

Karin and Yuzu arrived at school a bit later than they intended but neither Tōshirō or Ash paid them any heed. They were so lost in thought that they didn't notice that they were surrounded by a crowd of screaming fan girls _again. _

Each girl brave enough to get within three meters of either blissfully unaware teen were met by a terrifying glare from Karin and a sickeningly sweet smile from Yuzu. A brave screaming girl made a mad dash at the red eyed teen but this proved to be a terrible idea. She grabbed Ash's arm and attempted to forcefully yank him away but the second she touched his arm, she yelled in pain.

The scream was loud and filled with anguish. It easily silenced the crowd and gained everyone's attention. She pulled her smoking hand away to reveal why she yelled.

Her had was covered in several third degree burns and blisters. All eyes widened and everyone besides the obvious four rushed the girl to first aid. It was at this moment that Ash and Tōshirō had begun to take in their surroundings. Karin and Yuzu were staring at them but that wasn't really nothing new there. They wore incredulous looks and even held a hint of fear in their eyes.

"What?" Tōshirō asked with a raised brow.

"A-are you ok?" Yuzu asked nervously. "We're fine." Ash's reply was cold.

Waiting for no one, Ash began to walk to class a bit faster than usual with a dangerous aura around him. Everything about him from the emotionless expression, to the annoyed look in his eyes said "Do not disturb" as clear as day but Yuzu was determined to find out what was wrong with her Ash-kun.

Yes her's. She had to admit, she sounded selfish in claiming the boy to herself but she and even he knew it was true. He was always her's and will always be her's. Just like she was his. It was really sad how much of her he owned even though he was unaware of it. She would carry the moon and the stars on her back if he asked her to. She would always be by his side even if he doesn't know it.

Almost has though Ash heard her ramblings, he turned one ruby eye to her, coming to a complete stop in the process. Yuzu Kurosaki. I would destroy the world for you, I will mercilessly end anything that upsets you in anyway and I will never forgive myself if I ever make you frown. My power wi be used to make you smile and to protect you. I will follow you into the darkness just as you would do for me.

Tōshiro took Karin's hand in a gentle but protective grip. She turned to face him but he continued to look straight. Karin Kurosaki. How? How do you do this to me? You've single handedly broke down all my defenses, you somehow made me feel emotions that I've never felt before. You're a beautiful girl who's stolen my heart and I trust that you don't break it.

Karin easily fell into rhythm with Hitsugaya and continued to enjoy the warmth of his hand. She couldn't help but grin at the fact that she was acting like a love struck girl. But she was. Tōshirō Hitsugaya had made her fall in love with him with no visible effort on his part. She hated herself for feeling like this but it was true, she only ever admitted it to Yuzu but yes, she loved him and would lay down her life for him in an instant. She had gotten lost in those teal, cold eyes but she had no intention on leaving them.

Tōshirō looked into Ash's eyes and in that instant a message was relaid.

'We are part shinigami. We can be killed at a moments notice.'

But just as his words rang true, so did Ash's. 'But it feels so right.'

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter guys and I got a new story cover. That is how Ash and Tōshirō are depicted in this story. Also anyone who is writing a fanfic and needs an idea or character, you can just use Ash. **

**Preview for upcoming events: **

Tōshirō gripped his sword tightly and glared furiously at his opponent. He shunpoed high into the air and yelled, "DRAGON'S DECENT!" His opponent's eyes widened and pointed his sword at the dragon that was Hitsugaya. "Shoot to kill…."

Ash stared at the gargantuan man with indifference but the killing intent wafting off of his opponent was to harsh to ignore. "What is ya name boy?!" The man commanded with his voice filled with glee. "I am Ash Kita!" He said as he pointed his sword high into the air.

"Fucking sweet! I am Kenpachi Zaraki! Captain of the 11th Division!" The man said as he charged at Ash, ready to lob his head off.

"BRING THEM INTO DARKNESS, **KURAI HONŌ!" **

Then the clash began….


	12. Chapter 12

Hello. Judging by the saddening reviews, I don't really know what to think about the last chapter. :/

Chapter 12:

-Continue-

Continuing on in his rather hasty steps, Ash ignored all the worried and fearful looks shot at him. He vaguely heard someone call his name but he paid it no heed. He needed to think. He doesn't want all this attention nor did he particularly care for school. As they neared the home room, a very large and easily recognizable boy stood in front of the troubled Kita. "Well if it isn't the freaks?" Kagawa said with a disgusting sneer.

His words somehow managed to take Ash out of his cloudy mind. The red eyed teen stared at the rotund boy with practiced indifference but he was seething on the inside. "Not now Hotaru. I'm not in the mood." Though his words were calm, cool and collected, his voice was venomous and filled to the brim with warning. Tōshirō, who was still hand in hand with Karin, felt Ash's slowly raising reiatsu and took action.

"Oi. Hotaru. If you value your life in anyway, shape or form…. You will run and run far away as quickly as possible."

The hallway fell into an eerie and the tension was so thick it was almost hard to breathe. Kagawa paused and realized the very clear malicious intent dripping from Ash's being and wisely turned around and walked (jogged) away.

Ash silently entered the classroom. He completely disregarded with had just happened and headed directly for his seat in the back of class. Tōshirō gave the teacher a nod of acknowledgment and pulled a blue paper from his pocket and handed it to Yuzu. She looked puzzled. 'When did he write that?'

_I think it would be best if you just avoid Ash for a while. He hasn't had the best week._

_Hitsugaya_

Yuzu blinked. Twice. Three times. Before tearing the paper in two. Like hell she would leave Ash alone. She was determined to find out what was wrong, though she knew she would probably just annoy him further but it was a risk she was willing to take.

Tōshirō sighed. 'Just control yourself Ash.' He thought to himself before the class began.

-The Rooftop, Lunch Break-

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

This had been going on for ten minutes now and neither party seemed wanted to give in. Yuzu originally came with the simple question and a cute pout but Ash just ignored her. A few questions later it turned into this.

"Yu-chan can you please stop? You are beginning to annoy me." He said bluntly. But his words feel on deaf ears.

"What's wrong?" Yuzu said for the fourteenth time in a row.

"Yuzu…."

"What is wrong?"

Ash just sighed and got up. "Just stop." He said as he began to walk away. He didn't get far. Yuzu jumped on his back and wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and torso. Ash pouted and sighed.

"How long are you going to stay there?"

"Until you tell me what's wrong."

"Fair enough."

True to her word, she stuck to his back between class periods for the rest of the day. He didn't really mind her being with him all day, quite the opposite. He loved the idea of her being with him but what he didn't like was the constant questions. There was really nothing wrong with him. Really. He honestly just didn't feel like talking much today but these Kurosakis were stubborn as all hell.

"Yu-chan. Nothing is wrong." Ash reiterated, barely suppressing his ever growing annoyance. The red eyed teen was wholeheartedly surprised when the petite girl _actually _came off albeit with a pout and a grumble. "Thank you."

"Oh yeah guys. We got a new student." Karin said suddenly. Both brothers raised a brow at this and gestured her to continue. "Some red haired kid."

Tōshirō stared blankly into Karin's onyx eyes for a few short seconds before groaning. "Are you serious?" The ice in his voice could almost be visible. Karin tilted her head in confusion. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Ash I think we should leave early." He said suddenly and turned around. Ash just grunted and began walking to the edge of the rooftop before Karin grabbed Tōshirō's wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" She said with a scowl.

"Elsewhere." Was Hitsugaya's plain response. He gently removed his arm from Karin's grip and he and Ash jumped off the roof. Why you may ask? Why not?

-Several minutes later at Urahara Shop-

"Oh Kisuke-San. You are a dead man." Ash said angrily at the man clad in green, whom was currently cowering in fear.

"But Kita-san I'm technically already dead." He said with a grin despite being a few centimeters from Ash's black blade.

"Okay that's even Ash. You can kill him later." A particular cat said as it appeared on Ash's shoulder.

"Hm. Fine sensei. You live to fight another day Urahara." Ash's rare glare was enough to change the whole room's atmosphere.

"Now Kisuke. Why'd you send Jinta to school?" Yoruichi asked though she already knew the answer.

"What can I say? The boy needs an education." Kisuke burst into uproarious laugher. It was at this moment that Tōshirō Hitsugaya…left the room.

"Bring them int-" Ash began in a scary calm tone but was cut off with a paw to the forehead.

"Calm down hot stuff. You're burning the floor."

"I was about to burn him." Ash's reiatsu lowered ad he sheathed his sword. "I hate you Urahara." He turned and shunpoed away.

-Much, Much Later-

"Where are you taking Rukia?!" Ichigo demanded with an intense glare.

His glare was directed at two men. One tall with spiked red hair, from what Ichigo could see, he also had sported lots of tribal tattoos on his forehead and visible arms. The other man was about moderate height with short Raven hair. He had some weird hair piece and wore a blank, calculating expression. The thing that caught Ichigo's attention was the stark white robe he was wearing.

"Rukia Kuchki is a criminal of the Soul Society and must be arrested." The red haired man said with a wicked grin.

"Like hell I'm letting you take her!" Ichigo said angrily as he charged.

CLANG!

The clash of swords echoed through the hollow streets. Ichigo's swords ground against his opponent's making sparks fly. The shorter man apparently decided that he didn't have time to watch a petty brawl and shunpoed at a great speed. He aimed his sword from Ichigo's spiritual cord and instantly severed the connection.

"You even fall slowly boy." The man said with distain. As he walked back to the portal he had generated, a hand clamped around his ankle.

"N-no. R-rukia." Ichigo said weakly. The man looked at Ichigo with very little interest and attempted to end the boy's life with a stab to the heart. Key word being _attempted. _

A hand grabbed his wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tōshirō's calm voice sounded. The cloaked man looked mildly impressed that Hitsugaya got this close to him without detection and glared at the boy. "Abarai." The man's voice was cold and unforgiving.

Abarai shunpoed to Tōshirō's left side with a stab primed to strike. It was cut short as a particularly annoyed red-eyed brother kneed him in the stomach. Abarai slid back a few feet before regaining his balance and doubling over. "Hm. No."

The cloaked man yanked from Tōshirō's grasp and quickly slashed him across the back. Tōshirō's eyes widen tremendously as he narrowly avoided the second strike. Ash quickly shunpoed in front of the man and sent a powerful knee to his chin. The man dodged and pointed a single finger at Ash's right shoulder. He whispered something and made a bolt of lightning shoot into Ash's arm.

The red eyes widen immensely and the lightning combined with the rain and Ash's wet form only made the pain worst. He gritted his teeth and shunpoed back, clutching his limp arm. He glared at the man and let his power rise. The stone-faced man's eyes appear to focus on the boy. The rain had begun to evaporate around him, shrouding him in mist. Captain Kuchki shunpoed in the mist and after a brief moment, walked out, apparently unscathed.

Rukia gasped as the mist dissipated and Ash's prone body was revealed. "Abarai." The stotic man said in a deadpan. "Hai Captain."

Ichigo's head weakly shook and he looked eyes with Rukia. He tried to speak but his body wouldn't let him. Everything he wanted to say was conveyed through the intense stare, 'We're going to save you.'

Rukia began to tear up at the sight of her three male friends facedown in a pool of each of their own blood. She didn't know what happened in the mist but it would appear the Captain Kuchki had some trouble in subduing Ash. She barely caught the burn on her brother's arm. He himself appeared to be ignorant to the injury until his other arm faintly brushed over it.

As the portal disappeared from view, Tōshirō forced himself to stand up. 'Well that could've gone better.' He thought as Urahara and Yoruichi had appeared next to Ash and Ichigo.

"Wow. Did you feel that Yoruichi? Seems like our little fiery friend made Byakuya break a sweat." Kisuke said with a light chuckle.

"Seems so, I thought he was going to get serious there." Yoruichi said with a proud stare at the slowly awakening Kita.

**A/N: I know none of you were expecting this. But I'm truly sorry about how long this took. But, ya know, school and life. T^T . And I am waiting to see Ash appear in another doc. xD**


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for the reviews like normal.

Chapter 13:

It was quiet. Too quiet. Ash, Tōshirō and Ichigo sat amongst Urahara and his gang in complete and utter silence. After the events of the previous evening, the general power of the Captains had been seen and Tōshirō had his doubts in taking them on. Byakuya Kuchiki was that particular captain's name. Kisuke had informed them that, despite the man seeming to beat them all with ease, he used quite a bit of power to take down Ash.

"What are we going to do?" Ash asked to break the silence. "Ichigo isn't a shinigami anymore and we have no way to save Rukia." He said with a scowl.

"Ash, he can just do the same thing we did. That whole "hole" thing." Said the white haired brother a few feet behind him. "Besides I'm almost 100% sure that Urahara has some kind of way to get us there."

"Now, now Hitsugaya-kun you think so highly of me." Kisuke said with a pleasant grin.

The room went silent again. A few moments passed before a red head walked into the room, ignorant of his surroundings. Ash glared at the boy but said nothing. Ichigo scowled and stared at Urahara. "What is this "hole" thing?"

"My my, dear boy, I thought you would never ask. Well it's basically why Kita-kun and Hitsugaya-kun have their zanpakuto and you do not." Ichigo seems surprised at that very obvious fact. Ash and Tōshirō sighed that Ichigo hadn't noticed that up until now.

"We have to save Rukia and if this "hole" this is what will give me the power to do so, then fine." Kisuke couldn't help but smirk at the boy's resolve and lead him and Yoruichi away. It was at this point that Jinta realized the occupants of the room and why he felt such dread upon arriving home. Ash somehow shunpoed from his laying-down position and appeared right behind the boy.

"Listen and listen to me well. You will _not _have any form of interaction with Karin or Yuzu Kurosaki. If I even have an idea inside my dream that you planned to speak to any of them, I will slaughter you. I have been meaning to kill you ever since that day, do not give me a reason to make your death more painful." Ash said with a tone Tōshirō had only ever heard him use one time. Without waiting for a response, Ash shunpoed away with Tōshirō in tow.

-The Great Sakura Tree-

"Shirō, how did we get into this? I mean, for the past few months, the threat of death has never been so high." Ash said, he spotted his body where he usually put it, at the base of the tree bit decided not to enter it now. "But hey, this is the life we chose."

Tōshirō sighed and joined Ash on his favorite branch. "I know, and it seems like us dying will become a regular thing. With this whole "Going to the Soul Society to save Rukia" thing. Also, your threat to Jinta was pretty funny; terrifying but funny." He said with a smirk.

Ash chuckled. "We are a pretty scary family when you think about it. You and I have the power to level a city. And we very overprotective of the Kurosakis."

"Yeah, I can remember a time when we only ever talked to each other, now we have friends to annoy us." Tōshirō said with a grin at the end. Ash chuckled once again and sighed.

"When will we ever have this much peace again?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Tōshirō said, "Meh probably not."

Realizing his brothers words rang true, he fell into silence. Both brothers gazed up into the sky and into the stars, quietly enjoying the peace. If they is indeed their last moment of ease, at least they were together like they always were.

"Shirō. That boy, Jinta. I don't want him around Yuzu."

"I know you don't. So what are you going to do?"

"Like I can do anything, I'm not her boyfriend Shirō. And we not being here won't make me feel better." Ash said with a sigh.

They sat in silence for the rest of the night. Only making a sound when they saw a massive beam of light shoot out of Urahara's shop, to show that Ichigo was ready, willing and able to save his friend. This shall be interesting. Tōshirō thought about the battle that they would go through. They knew next to nothing about the Captains not there abilities, but he figured they knew nothing about them either.

Tōshirō pondered the thought for a second before Yoruichi appeared before them in her human form. "Is this where you guys stay? Good taste. Come to the shop, Kisuke has a plan." She said with a smirk. She shunpoed away, very closely followed by the two brothers, their pace shocking her. She may have been 100 years out of practice but she was sure that her skill hadn't deteriorated that much, if at all. She inwardly smiled at the two beings behind her, they had amazing potential.

Arriving at the shouten at way less time than expected, they were greeted by Ichigo facing off with the little girl who's power seemed to be limitless, Ururu. They were about 100 meters apart until the gap was instantly closed by the little girl, who brought down an immensely powerful punch onto the shocked strawberry. The ground shook from the blow and a massive cloud of dust appeared. Ash silently thought Ichigo had died right then and there, but he was proven wrong when the orange-haired teen emerged from his hole with a scowl, but unharmed.

"What the fuck, Urahara?" Ichigo said in fury. The older man simply chuckled and gestured for all three teens to meet in the center of the basement.

"Now now boys! This mission will be dangerous, and I cannot promise that you'll make it out alive" The man clad in green started seriously. "So you'll be going in there with the strongest of the strong. Beings so powerful that even I, do not with to engage them in combat."

Ash and Tōshirō raised a brow in unison, as they so often did.

"They are… Chad, Orihime and Uryū." He finished, tilting his hat.

"…."

"….."

"….No. They aren't coming." Ichigo protested.

"Aw. Why not Kurosaki-kun?"

"They're human with no powers. I know Uryū can hold his own, but I'm sorry, what can Chad and Orihime do?" Tōshirō said before the yelling could continue.

Instead of speaking, Chad calmly walked up to a random rock formation and his hand began to glow white. He, with one punch, leveled the playing field, literally. Ichigo's eyes widened as Tōshirō and Ash just stared on. Orihime cheered and Uryū continued to stare on in apathy. He had a few cuts and bruises on his hand, and Orihime used this to display her power. She said something that I do not feel like typing, as this is Orihime we are talking about, and a golden orb appeared over Chad's massive arm, making the wounds disappear almost as though they were never there to begin with.

"A tank, and a super fast healer." Tōshirō pointed out. "Well, that could be useful."

"What about you three?" Uryū started with distain, "What can you three do in battle?"

"Anyway!..." Kisuke interjected. "We shall leave tomorrow." Not wanting to stay any longer, both Ash and Tōshirō shunpoed away, leaving everyone else there to discuss whatever they will.

-A few hours later-

"Where are you taking us?" Karin asked for the third time. Tōshirō ignored her once more. He knew why Ash chose this place to carry them, and he also knew the reason for carrying them there at all, but he refused to answer for his own reasons.

"Karin. They're doing that "mysterious" thing again." Yuzu said with a pout. A few more minutes of walking, they arrived at the Sakura tree that Ash had so affectionately called "Heiwa" . Meaning peace. The girls were awe-struck.

They had seen the very top of the tree at a distance but never have they been this close. The wind gently blew to the east, with their clothes and various leaves that fell off. Ash had his hands in his pocket with Yuzu on his back. Karin had gotten tired of walking and Tōshirō picked her up bridal-style, despite her many protests. "Hold on." Ash instructed. He wait until she had a firm grip on his neck before jumping. Karin, seeing this, panicked and buried herself in the white-haired teens chest. He too jumped and after a few seconds they arrived at Ash's favorite spot.

It was a beautiful clearing that had a view of the setting sun and Karakura's river. "We need to talk." Ash said with a sigh.

"Shirō, Ichigo and I, are going to be MIA for a few days." He started.

"What's MIA?"

"Missing in action. We won't be here basically." Tōshirō explained.

"Oh. Why? Where are you going? How long are you going to be gone?"

"Easy easy. And we sadly can't answer any of those. Don't worry, we'll be back." Tōshirō said to soothe the twins.

An unspoken 'Hopefully' hung between both he and the red-eyed one but neither decided to voice it.

"Is there anyway to change your minds?" Karin asked, fully realizing that asking Ichi-nii would be pointless. Tōshirō shook his head and studied the girl for a moment before turning away.

"Just come back safely. Okay guys?" Yuzu more or less demanded. "Also.. Ash-kun, I noticed that, you don't seem to like being around Hanakari-kun." Hearing her add the suffix made Ash's eyes glow bright red. He quickly turned away from her and look at the setting sun.

"No," He began. His tone was something that Yuzu hated to hear. Calm, uncaring and vaguely suppressive would be the correct terms to use to describe it. It only meant one thing; Ash was pissed beyond comprehension and he didn't want to speak about why. This was the one thing that Ash did to _really _upset her. "Everything is fine."

Everything was, indeed, not fine.

"But, Yu-chan. Distance yourself from the boy. Do not speak to him. Karin-san, ensure that he does not communicate with my Yu-chan at any cost." He continued to stare on, allowing them all to lapse into an uncomfortable silence.

'His Yu-chan' The brunette thought repeatedly. She drowned out the rest of te conversation on solely focused on that statement.'

"We've got to go Ash. Let's carry them home." Tōshirō said with hidden anxiety.

-The following evening-

As the group stood in front of the shining gate that is said to lead to the Soul Society, Ichigo couldn't help but wonder…what exactly would they be up against. Urahara hadn't revealed much, and truth be told, he didn't need too. With the combined powers of Ash, Tōshirō and himself, this would surely be an interesting and unforgettable venture.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello.

Chapter 14:

There they were. Outside the gates of what is known Seireitei. They stood a good distance away from the gate, seeing that they couldn't actually see if there was a gate keeper or not. Uryū had the very obvious feeling that there was one, just to annoy them. The group began to move as one in complete silence. The Quincy was rather adept at sensing Reiatsu but his senses were dulled just a bit when around Ichigo.

His reiatsu was insane. It was higher than the time they fought off the hollows. But it also felt weird, a though that there was another being living inside of him. Uryū stared at him for a moment before he turned his attention to Ash and Tōshirō, whom both seemed to be monstrous in their own rights. He had seen first hand what those two can do in battle and he happened to over hear that they only got stronger since that period.

Uryū was baffled. He tried to sense at least at least a minute portion of Tōshirō's power but felt absolutely nothing at all. Almost as though he wasn't there, same went for Ash. The power to mask one's presence is truly a frightening ability.

They neared the wall, where they were met by a gargantuan man. He seemed to not notice them at first which gave Ash the idea to just sneak around him but, of course Ichigo would have to open his big mouth and give away their position.

"Oi." The orange haired teen said calmly. "Open the gate."

The giant only now noticed the weird group of individuals at his feet and seemed to chuckle at the boys request. "Haha! Do you know who I am boy?" Ichigo nodded slowly. "I am called Jidanbō! I am the gate keeper of the west gate. Have some respect."

"So I take it you won't open the gate then?" Ichigo questioned. Tōshirō noticed that Ichigo had begun picking up some of he and Ash's habits. This may or may not be a good thing.

"You seem all to calm boy. You have to beat me in battle of you want this gate opened. Now which one will it be?" Jidanbō asked with a cocky grin. He scanned all the faces and his eyes stopped on Ash for a second…'he looks like…-'

"Me." Ichigo said as he stepped forward. He gripped the girl of his massive sword and raised it high in the air, making the tape wrapped the sword fly off. Jidanbō quickly brought his giant axe into view and raised it high in the air as well.

Ichigo jumped at the giant and Jidanbō swung his axe downwards. Their weapons met with the sound of thunder and pieces of metal flew off in random directions. One flew quickly at Orihime's neck. It was blocked by Uryū, who seemed to just teleport in front of her. Yoruichi noticed the boys speed and stared at him for a few seconds; analyzing him. 'Wow.' She thought, 'these kids have some serious power to them.' She then looked at Ichigo. 'He broke that axe with just one powerful swing. This may actually go smoothly.'

Her thoughts were interrupted however by the sound of Jidanbō opening the massive gate which surrounded the Gotei 13. She opened her reiatsu senses and was horrified at the first person she sensed. Her tiny cat eyes widened and just as she went to voice her concerns, _he _appeared.

"My, my." The man said, his voice calm but mocking. "What do we have here? Intruders?"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice. The first thing anyone noticed was the long, sleeveless "haori" as Yoruichi called it. Tōshirō's eyes narrowed on the man. He was taller than most, and his hair was stark silver. He seemed almost ill with his thin he was. His face was ominously cheerful; him wearing a seemingly permanent grin. His eyes were unreadable as they were narrowed to slits themselves.

"Kita! Hitsugaya! Kurosaki!" Yoruichi yelled. "Retreat, that's the captain of the Third Division!"

"Kita?" The man said in confusion. He looked around for a few moments before his eyes stopped on Ash. "Oh this is most interesting. My, my. Where are my manners?" The man said with his grin growing more sinister by the moment.

"I am Gin Ichimaru." Gin said as he withdrew his sword. "And _Shoot to kill! _Shinsō."

Without any indication, his sword shot forward towards the group at blinding speed. Tōshirō was the first to react, him using his Reiatsu to move everyone out of the immediate area. He himself simply shunpoed out of the way and allowed the blade to shoot past him. Gin's grin faltered imperceptibly and he quickly retracted his blade. Then it got cold…

"_Reign over the frosted heavens! _Hyōrinmaru." He exclaimed. He then shot a massive ice dragon at Ichimaru, with its size being comparable to a small bus. Gin stood unmoving for a moment before simply pointing his sword at the beast and focusing his reiatsu into its tip. The ice grinded against the steel for a moment before the dragon shattered.

"Retreat!" Yoruichi yelled. The whole group then began to run in the direction of the Rukongai, but suddenly Gin appeared next to Tōshirō. The white haired teen scowled and blocked a powerful swing from the captain, with his arms vibrating from the sheer force. Ichimaru and Hitsugaya locked eyes are a brief instance before, the teen summoned another ice dragon at the captain. This was was much smaller than the first but it's speed was nearly doubled.

Gin easily parried the attack and once again aimed his sword at the direction they were just standing in, only to see the closing gate. His sky blue eyes met Tōshirō's turquoise orbs a mere second before the gate fell.

Now, Gin stood completely emotionlessly in silence, quietly contemplating what had just happened. 'My, what a troublesome boy.' He thought. Slowly his grin returned and he turned to walk away; paying the gate one last glance, 'I'll be waiting for round two Hitsugaya.'

-Outside the Gotei's wall-

"What the fuck was that?!" Ichigo swore. "That guy's power is insane!"

No one said anything for the second it took for them to head in another direction. "…he was holding back, big time." Tōshirō finally said. "When we clashed, I saw the look in his eye. He was toying with me…" The white-haired teen said with immense anger dripping from his being.

'Figures.' The cat thought. 'There would be no way for him to hold his own against Gin at this level.'

"Don't worry Tōshirō-san. I'm sure you'll get another chance to fight him." Orihime said cheerfully. Chad said nothing but gave a quick nod.

"Don't worry. I fully intend to have a second round." Hitsugaya said with malicious intent clear in his voice. Everyone sweat dropped lightly to the scene before Ash stepped forward and cleared his throat, "So? How do we get in?" He asked, with a tone that sounded as though he were tired.

"I know just the place." All eyes fell on the cat.

-Shiba Estate-

"Yoruichi!" A robust women called out. "It's been a long ass time!"

"Kukakū!" Yoruichi said in her human form. "Yes it has, how you been?" She questioned cheerfully.

"Meh, same old. Trying to keep this restaurant running." Kukakū said with a sigh of annoyance. Only then did she notice the sizable group behind the tan-skinned former captain. She stared at them for a brief moment with an expressionless face before sighing. "Table for 7, I assume?"

Yoruichi chuckled. "No, we simply need to use the cannon."

"Oh. You're finally taking revenge on the Gotei? About time." Kukakū said enthusiastically.

The beautiful woman chuckled once more. "No no, we're here to save a friend…" She said vaguely, motioning her hand to add emphasis.

"Oh. Is it that Kuchiki girl? I figured _someone _would see through the old man's bullshit."

"Gramps doesn't make decisions like that. If he wanted to kill her, she wouldn't have made it here in one piece." Kukakū chuckled but she knew this grizzly truth.

"So this goes deeper than even old man Genocide."

"Much.."

"Well we shall talk more about this later, but for now I'll get the cannon ready." With those words, Kukakū walked away, leaving her guests in the care of her servants.

-A few moments later-

The "Rescue Rukia" team had now been fully locked and loaded inside. Yoruichi had fully informed them about what they would be.

The plan is since Ichigo, Tōshirō and Ash are all powerful enough for even mid to high level lieutenant, they would go alone. She was fairly confident that they would be able to hold their own against a captain but she had her major doubts. She would accompany the rest until a certain point. The Quincy, Uryū, he had promise. She woul have to wait until he took down at least a third seat for her to leave him by himself. She figured that Ash and Tōshirō would have enough sense to locate someone to direct them around.

Ichigo's charisma alone my be enough to get him by. As they shot up and the rocket met its apex, she glanced around. "Now!" She yelled. Ash, Tōshirō and Ichigo all jumped out; each heading in their own directions. As they fell, Yoruichi informed them to use their reiatsu as somewhat of a parachute to slow them down. As if on cue, each boy let his reiatsu surround him, giving the appearances of a black, white and blue comet respectively.

One thought was on Tōshirō's mind as he heard the sirens below and as he neared the ground.

'Well, no turning back now!'

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait but as most of you know of or experienced before, being a senior in high school takes up a lot of time. :/ Sorry for the delay.**


	15. Chapter 15

Hello.

Chapter 15:

Time seemed to slow down as he fell. Ichigo looked around at each of his descending friends and silently hoped for the best. He turned his head back to the floor and did as he was told, allowing his reiatsu to surround him. He felt himself slowing down but he was still far to high up to notice a difference. It was literally breathtaking. He heard the loud sirens and alarms of the Gotei to signal their arrival, followed by the loud roar of a massive crowd. Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot past Ash, startling him. "Damn it." He whispered as several kidō spells were fired at them in rapid succession.

Tōshirō and Ichigo went through the onslaught unharmed as all the shots fired narrowly avoided their targets. Ash however wasn't as lucky, he saw the giant fireball nearing him and merely used his left arm to block it. It successfully knocked him off his intended course and made him disappear in a ball of smoke. "Ash!" Tōshirō exclaimed with desperation. He barely caught sight of which division that Ash was unfortunately heading towards, which was the second.

Tōshirō unsheathed his sword and glared angrily at the area where Kita was intended to land and where the shot had been fired, between the Tenth and Eleventh divisions. "Dragon's Decent!" He yelled. His reiatsu took the form of a pure white dragon and he shot down at the area, like a hawk approaching its prey.

This left Ichigo falling all by himself. He didn't have a technique to fall faster, nor did he get struck so he was alone with his thoughts. However, he soon caught wind of where he was and quickly used his reiatsu to cushion the fall. He back flipped and made a decent sized crater and a large cloud of dust due to his impact. Almost instantly, he was surrounded by a massive group of shinigami. He did a quick scan and noticed that none of they had on the Captain's cloak, so he wasn't in any major danger now.

"Stop! Don't move!" A foot soldier yelled. "You are under arrest for invading the Seireitei!"

Ichigo stared on in indifference and completely ignored then man's order. He quickly thought of two things he could do, he could either run or he could fight. 'Well then, I'm not running, Sooo…'

A man charged at the strawberry with a quick battle cry and attempted to behead Ichigo, but the teen was prepared. He simply ducked the blow and roundhouse kicked the man in the ribs, effectively shattering some of them. He made it a point to not kill anyone. That wasn't his mission, to commit pointless genocide. He was here to save Rukia and that's what he would do.

As the man fell, another man came to take his place. Ichigo simply raised his reiatsu a bit to silence the crowd that he had gathered. He smirked and slowly reached for the hilt of his sword.

-With Tōshirō-

The white haired teen now was kneeling in a crater he created, with his head down and Hyōrinmaru's tip lodged into the floor. Piles of unconscious shinigami littered the area. He closed his eyes and let his reiatsu senses open. It wasn't his intent to kill anyone and it seems that he thankfully didn't, as he could feel at least some life in those guys. He quickly opened his eyes and was went by a blade hanging between his eyes.

His eyes widen and he quickly fell backwards to avoid being stabbed in the forehead. He quickly grabbed Hyōrinmaru's hilt and blocked the next slash the quickly followed. Though he kept his eyes on his opponent, he felt a very familiar power a few meters away. Despite him constantly moving to avoid death, it was just his natural reflexes. His mind was focused on the exceedingly high reiatsu near him.

"Enough." He said icily. He quickly put his sword in reverse grip and shot former with an intent to kill. The unnamed shinigami tried to block the attack but was shocked when Tōshirō simply cut through his sword like it wasn't even there. Blood spurted from the man's chest and he fell forward with some of his blood splashing on Tōshirō's cheek. He paid it no mind and just stared in the direction of the formidable reiatsu. '_Tōshirō focus. We're here to save Rukia.' _Hyōrinmaru's voice boomed.

'But, is that her…?' He said as he took off in a shunpo towards the Tenth Division.

-With Ash-

"Damn it." Ash panted. His shihakushō's left arm had been burned off and his arm had been exposed and slightly limp. He had put his sword and its sheath on his back now so it would be easier to use while his left arm was very limited with its use. He felt a power presence nearing him and quickly masked all of his spiritual pressure to avoid detection, but this proved futile. A sword came sailing and impaled itself mere inches away from his head, and deep into the way behind him.

"My my, seems we meet again." Gin said with his unreadable voice. Ash fully realized that he was no match for Gin and didn't bother speaking.

Both man and teen disappeared in identical shunpos and clashed a few feet away. "Captain Ichimaru!" A man from near Ash said. "Fuck." Kita swore. He already wasn't a match for Gin but now he had to deal with this guy.

'Well I guess I have to use this, I was hoping to save this but now or never.' "Ichimaru. I'm not your opponent. My brother is." Ash muttered.

"Ah, but I can just kill you both."

"No you can't. You may have seen this technique before," Ash said as he stepped forward and sheathed his sword. He then raised his right arm and made it parallel with the ground. ,"however, mine is a bit….wild."

Gin stood there confused for a second before he finally recognized the stance that Ash was in. This made his grin widen and become almost proud. He took an unconscious step back and watched in awe as Ash's shihakushō fully tore off to reveal a simple sleeveless skin-tight shirt; given to him by Yoruichi.

"Shunko!"

-With Yoruichi's group-

The group turned around in unison. They all were heading to where Yoruichi thought Rukia was located until the saw a large beam of darkness shoot up in the air. "Oh my God! What is that?!" Orihime exclaimed once she saw the beam behave like lightning.

"Well Ishida. You wanted to know what Ash could do?" The tan woman said with a proud smile. Uryū stared on in awe before at the base of the monolith of darkness, an explosion was seen and somewhat heard.

-With Ichigo-

He himself was very tired and hurt. He had just fought a bald man with a spear. As funny as that image sounds, Ikkaku Madarame was not a man to be taken lightly. Before the power third seat passed out, he said something to Ichigo about how he would now be hunted down by Kenpachi Zaraki; his Captain.

He thought about it and realized that he probably won't be hunted anymore because of Ash's display. He sweat dropped lightly to the whole display, and shook his head slowly. Yuzu ran across his mind as Ash's shunko died down. "Well, I hope you don't hurt him, Yuzu." He muttered before he continued to shunpo in a random direction.

-Back to Ash-

He sat with his back against a wall, panting heavily. Sweat poured from his person as he struggled to regain his breath. Pain coursed through his entire body. He knew this was a bad idea, using his shunko like that. Yoruichi had told him that using it would put incredible strain on his body and muscles. It was intended to be used as a last resort as some kind of second wind, but it was either use that or face Gin Ichimaru.

"Damn it." He muttered through gritted teeth. He forced himself to stand and wobbled a bit to try and gain his balance. Suddenly he felt a massive storm of shinigami heading his way and painfully shunpoed high into a nearby tree. He felt himself losing consciousness but willed himself to remain awake.

Faintly he heard the voices of several enraged and panicked shinigami. What they said made his eyes widen. "The Ryoka killed Captain Aizen!"

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter this time. :P**


	16. Chapter 16

Hey.

Chapter 16:

-Continuation-

Ash waited a few moments for the crowd of people below him to disappear before he decided to move. The pain from his Shunko had died down to the point where he could move freely. But the second he leapt from his place on the tree branch, he was surrounded. A large group of shinigami clad in all black appeared around him. "Steady men!" A feminine voice, filled to the brim with pride yelled from behind him.

"Well, ryoka." The woman said as she came into view. She was a rather short woman with a thin, yet slightly toned build. Her hair was short and raven, with two much longer braids extending outward. Her grey eyes glared heavily at Ash as if the stare alone would be enough to kill him. Besides her stood a much larger man. His face rotund and his person oozing arrogance. It vaguely reminded Ash of Kagawa in a personality stand point.

"Ryoka!" The man yelled. "You are under arrest for infiltrating the Seireitei and the death of Captain Aizen!"

"I didn't kill anyone." Ash said emotionlessly as he put his head down.

"Stop lying boy!"

The woman stared at Ash for a brief moment as if she recognized him. He slowly raised his head and locked eyes with her. His intense red eyes momentarily stunned the woman, she had never seen such a piercing color before.

"If my information is correct, I assume this is the "Stealth Force". Ash said as every eye locked one him and some even primed to strike. "Judging by your silence, I'm correct and would it be too far fetched to assume that you're Captain Soifon and Lieutenant Ōmaeda?"

"Who are you?!" Ōmaeda yelled, angry that this boy had somehow known their names and rank. Soifon however, clung to his every word, listening to them closely. This boy…had interested her and she had seen lots of potential in those deep eyes and that indifferent voice.

"Before you die boy, what's your name?" She asked politely, much to the surprise of everyone around her. Ash smirked at the tone.

"Just call me Ash." He said as the area got hot.

'Ash…' Soifon thought in a tone unfamiliar to even her.

"Attack!" Ōmaeda yelled at the large group charged at the red eyed with the intent to kill. He hadn't expected the speed of the men to be so great and just barely shunpoed out of the way. A member came at him with blinding speeds and gave Ash a small cut on the cheek.

Kita grabbed the man's arm and threw him several feet into a wall nearby and caused it to crack heavily. Soifon saw the shift in his eyes and felt a tinge of excitement.

Ash suddenly disappeared completely from all sight and detection for a moment before a large amount of the shinigami either fell unconscious or flew back, as if they had been hit by an invisible force. Ash appeared a second later with a cold, emotionless gleam in his eyes and stared at the captain and lieutenant, who in turn stared in disbelief at the boy. He smirked and jumped forward at an incredible speed and kicked Ōmaeda in the stomach. _Hard. _Soifon was standing next to the man as he got struck and she could have sworn she had gotten hit as well.

The sound of the lieutenant's ribs cracking echoed through the immediate vicinity and he flew back a great distance. Ash hit the floor and immediately took off in a shunpo, as he really didn't want to fight a captain at this moment.

Soifon just stared blankly at the scene in front of her. A large portion of her attack force had been taken down and lieutenant had been one shotted in the span of five seconds. She could've given chase to the boy but ultimately decided against it. She knew that she could probably take him down and that he probably didn't possess a bankai but it seemed best to let another captain deal with him.

-With Tōshirō-

He snuck around the Gotei in hopes of finding that powerful reiatsu that he felt earlier, not to fight it mind you, but to see who exactly it was that felt so familiar. He suddenly paused as he felt the same reiatsu again, but this time several paces behind him. He turned swiftly and was met by two women, one tall the other short.

"It is you…" The shorter woman said as a single tear came down her icy purple eyes.

-Back with Ash-

Another damn run in with a captain. This was beginning to annoy him. Behind every bend was a captain and his/her damn lieutenant primed to kill him. He briefly wondered why he agreed to do this in the first place, he could've been at his home sleeping the day away. But no. He's here, fighting supernatural beings with insane powers all because his orange haired friend ha a little crush.

"Fuck you Ichigo." He muttered to himself as aforementioned strawberry came into view, but there were two other people with him.

A short man stood besides him and the both seemed to quiver under an unseen force. As Ash shunpoed closer, he felt it. The massive surge of power that flooded his entire being. The power only seemed to double as a massive was a killing intent broke his shunpo and temporarily paralyzed him. Then he saw it. The captain, much larger than the other two with a face that screamed insanity and mindless slaughter. So this was the man Kisuke had told him about, the Captain of the 11th Division: Kenpachi Zaraki.

He stopped mere inches away from the trio of people and waited to see what would happen.

"Are ya the strongest? Ya must be if ya gave Ikkaku a beat down, the pansy." Kenpachi said in a feral tone. "Oh are ya the one that made that big-ass lightning pillar?"

Ash gave Ichigo no time to respond. "No, that was me." He said as he emerged from the shadows. Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise and the tiny man's eyes widen as well but Ash as saw, it was in fear.

"Wha? That was you? Yer a powerful one!" Kenpachi said as he unsheathed his sword. "Why don't yer both come attack me?" He parted his shihakushō and left his chest bare. "This won't be as fun if ya die too quick!"

Ichigo placed two hands on his blade and prepared to strike but Ash placed a single hand on his shoulder. "I got this guy, go on ahead." His voice had never been so….scarily calm.

"No way! Look at yourself! He'll kill you!" Ichigo protested. His rant caused Ash to lock eye with him and convey several things. One being the promise that unholy things would be done to him if he didn't leave and the other being Ash's reiatsu dumping on his body. He once again quivered from the sheer amount of darkness, it was almost sickening that someone should bare that as a power.

"Fine, but if you die, I'm not telling Tōshirō." The strawberry said as he finally took off running, leaving the two combatants alone.

"So yer gonna fight me? Well try and cut me!"

Ash slowly unsheathed his black blade and disappeared. He reappeared a few paces behind Kenpachi and some blood spurted from the man's chest. 'He cut me first try!' Zaraki thought euphorically.

"Don't take me lightly." The red eyes teen demanded.

Kenpachi smiled manically and tore his shihakushō clean off. "This is fucking sweet! I am Kenpachi Zaraki! Captain of the 11th Division!" He said as he charged at Ash with amazing speed. Ash barely blocked the strike and was still sent flying because of it. He smashed into a wall and barely parried another hit from the man.

"Aw is this all ya got?!" The maniac yelled. "Give me a fight!" He said as he charged at the injured Ash, ready to lob his head off. However Ash slammed the tip of his blade into the ground and screamed to the heavens.

"Bring them into darkness, **KURAI HONŌ!"**

**A/N: Hey, I'm actually updating at a reasonable time. Reviews are welcome and are key for making me update faster.**


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys/girls. Ready for Ash's shikai? Neither am I.

Chapter 17:

Ash's reiatsu exploded and the atmosphere around the two combatants got hotter and hotter. The owner of the black reiatsu became shrouded in it and disappeared from view. Kenpachi himself had no real talent for sensing spiritual pressure but he didn't need to for this fight. It was grossly apparent how powerful Ash's shikai was. His smile faltered ever so slightly, as a thought appeared in his mind. There is a very real possibility that he could die.

The more he thought about it, the less he grinned. By the time Ash became visible again, Zaraki's face stoned to concentration. Ash's appearance didn't change at all but the look in his eyes did.

"Tell me. Do you know the true meaning of darkness?" Ash asked as he took a few deep breaths and looked at his blade. It had been too long since he last used his shikai and felt his power flowing without restrictions.

"What the fuck are ya on about?!" Kenpachi asked as his grin returned, more feral than before.

Before Ash could reply, Kenpachi charged at him and swung his sword downward to bisect the young man. Ash's eyes widen as he once again barely blocked this blow and he jumped back. Kenpachi continued his vicious assault. Striking the boy each time he landed, with each one of his blows parried. Ash found an opening in the relentless onslaught and did a stab towards the man's heart. The sword came within a few inches of Kenpachi's heart before the Captain grabbed Ash's wrist.

He spun on his heel and threw the teen into a nearby wall, causing it to crack heavily. Ash coughed up a little blood and swung his sword in the Captain's direction. Kenpachi's eyes widen when a massive wave a fire shot fourth and flew him with terrifying speeds, destroying everything in its wake. He tried to block the attack, but the immense force forced him back a large distance.

Before he could regain his balance, Ash shunpoed behind him and kneed him in the back of the head. His head violently shot forward and he fell face first into the floor below. Ash shunpoed again but this time onto the roof of a nearby building and swung his sword one more. "Black fang." He whispered as a much larger wave a fire shot down. Within mere seconds, the attack connected and created a massive explosion that dwarfed the surroundings and blew massive amounts of dust around.

Ash figured that this would be enough to down the man for at least a few moments but he was wrong. Almost immediately as the dust cleared, Ash dodged a yellow beam fired at his spot. He lept from rooftop to rooftop with each of them being destroyed by the same attack. He eventually jumped to the center of the ever present dust cloud and with a small battle cry, he gripped his sword with two hand and swung downward. The wave of fire coming from Ash's sword was several times bigger than the first two and moved twice as fast. Ash's eyes widen as he saw a yellow wave of pure energy fired at his fire as some kind of counter. The attacks met with a startling amount of power and fused for a brief instant before exploding.

The explosion encompassed the whole area up to a mile in radius and knocked both fighters back and into whatever was nearest to them. Kenpachi regained his composure first. He looked down at himself and saw the damage of this intense battle. His body was badly burned and most of his shihakusho was missing. His legs felt much heavily and the tiny cuts on his body burned but didn't bleed. "Tch." He could see Ash stumbling to stand from across the battle field and his grin slowly returned.

Ash's whole body screamed in agony. After he used his Shunko to escape Gin, his body drained itself and refused to cooperate. This whole fight he had been forcing his body to move no matter how much he too wanted to give in. He panted heavily and coughed up a little more blood. "I don't know…..how much longer…. I…. Can do this." He scanned the battlefield for his opponent but saw nothing but rubble.

Zaraki's large body gave him away as Kita heard the gravel shift behind him. He rolled forward and narrowly avoided the man's strike, which itself created a small creator and kicked up more dust. While in his roll, he swung his sword up and gave the incoming man a small cut across his battered and burned chest but Kenpachi didn't stop or even slow down. Instead he stomped on Ash's left arm and pinned him to the floor. He delivered a powerful punch to the boy's abdomen and gripped him by the face.

He held the boy up and slammed him headfirst into the floor. He held the boy up once more and prepared to do the same thing again but Ash fired a Black Fang into Kenpachi's face at point blank range. He was freed from the man's grip and swept the Zaraki's feet from under him, leaving him parallel to the ground for a moment but that moment was all Kita needed.

He kneed the Captain in the ribs and heard the sickening sound of some cracking and quickly punched him in the chest which sent the man flying back into the rubble.

As Kenpachi slid to a stop, his body strained to force him massive frame to at least kneel upwards. He then realized something. He could see with both his eyes. His eyepatch which had been suppressing his power had been burned off. He felt a long burn, spanning from his forehead to his right cheek which crossed over his right eye. His reiatsu stared to pour out of his being but even then, it still put a lot of strain on his body to move.

Ash doubled over as he felt Kenpachi's power raise exponentially. He tried to stand but his legs wouldn't let him. He tried to raise his sword to defend himself but his arms refused.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Kenpachi slowly limping towards him with a visible skull emerged from behind him. Kita's shikai became too much for him to maintain and it deactivated. This gave his body at least a little more energy to move and he willfully and painfully stood up.

"Look Captain. We each can't take this for much longer." Ash ground out as merely speaking sent volumes of pain coursing through his body.

"Yer right. This is the best fight I ever 'ad." Kenpachi stopped 50 meters in front of Ash. "How about we end this? The loser dies, and the winners tells the tale!" Kenpachi yelled and started to chuckle manically. "Now! Prepare yerself! I can see that now you can barely breathe."

"You look a little worst for wear yourself." Ash raised his right arm out. "Get ready Captain! Shunko!"

With Ash's Shunko activated and Kenpachi's eyepatch off, Ash was sure that everyone in the Gotei could feel this battle. They lunged at each other and kicked up a lot of rubble while doing so. They closed the gap instantly and flew by each other. They both turned on a pivot at the same time and swung their swords with every last bit of power they possessed.

-Tōshirō-

He stared on in awe at the crying woman clutching him like her life depended on it. He didn't know what to say or do.

"Shirō-chan…" She whimpered. "Is-." She began but was cut off by the surge of power created by Ash and Kenpachi. "Oh my god! Is that Ash?!" She cried out with concern flooding her voice. She raced off in that direction as the explosion only seemed to expand more and more by the second.

Tōshirō stood stunned for a moment before finally realizing where the women had gone off to. His body unconsciously followed the reiatsu signal but….he couldn't think straight. He needed time to process what he had just saw… He needed to talk to his brother.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello.**

Chapter 18:

The giant reiatsu pillar created by the clashing of the captain-level shinigami had been astounding. Even now, as it slowly dispersed, the power radiating off of it was still strong enough to be felt from miles around. The battlefield where they had fought had been completely leveled and what had managed to escape the blast radius, had been burned to ashes due to Ash's unstable Shunko. The black and yellow reiatsu spire vanished quickly and the combatants came to view.

Kenpachi's large, muscular body was extremely burnt. Several third-degree burns graced his abdomen and the cuts he had gained had been cauterized. While those burns were quite deep, they would probably not scar; all but one. An extremely darkened "X" which had been placed directly over Zaraki's heart would be sure to haunt him.

Ash's injuries were much more grave. Blood and bruises were everywhere. Almost covering every inch of his body. A shallow pool of blood sat at his feet and he trembled violently. The left side of his body had been much more damaged than the right but Ash felt none of it. He only felt the undying exhaustion and the pain of all his muscles throbbing. The stress two Shunkos put on his body was staggering. Yoruichi-sensei had warned him that since he knew next to nothing about kido, his Shunko would pain his body until he knew how to control it better. He could feel himself losing all consciousness and hoped that the next person to find him would be someone on his side.

Ash fell backwards and hit the ground with a heavy thud and the temperature went cool. Kenpachi stared at the fallen teen with respect and his consciousness too started to fade. The tall man's eyes rolled to the back of his head and his fell forward, landing a few inches away from Ash.

-Toshiro-

"Akame…" Toshiro whispered. "Akame…"

"What Shiro-chan?! Now is not the time!" the short, purple eyed woman identified as Akame answered hysterically.

"There is no better time!" Toshiro said angrily, unintentionally making the area colder.

"Ash is possibly dying! What is it that you want to know?!"

"Why the fuck you left us?!" Toshiro's anger had peaked. Akame stopped and stared off, the question going unanswered. "Huh?! Why?! Do you know what we had to go through to survive this long?!"

"Shiro-chan…" Akame said. She tried to hug him but he pushed her away. The glare he shot at her had been extremely intense. The area had gotten far colder now, so much so that Hitsugaya's angry sigh was visible.

Toshiro said nothing further. He left Akame and Rangiku stunned in place; him going to find his brother.

-Elsewhere-

"So Ash's Shunko is fire based. Why am I not surprised?" Yoruichi said with a grin. She may not have been there to actually see the fight between Ash and Kenpachi but she sure as hell felt it. She was fairly confident that everyone who mattered in the Soul Society could feel it too. She had left Ichigo's group a while ago and now just roamed around with no real goal, but she figured she could at least ensure that the red-eyed teen doesn't die here.

She took off quickly all while keeping her presence hidden and her senses open. Every caption was accounted for aside from Kenpachi and each seemed to be closing in at a reasonably quick pace. She was glad she was so close to the battle, otherwise this would not end well. The fastest woman in Gotei's history was somewhat surprised to see the damage created by the fight. "Wow." She said with pride. Her student not only managed to beat one of the stronger captains, but also level a _huge_ area in the process.

She got close enough to where she could see where Zaraki's body was. Yachiru probably took him to be healed but she also saw a thin layer of ice, surrounding Ash and Toshiro as the latter kneeled over the former with his eyes obstructed from view by his messy hair. She took one silent step and accidentally touched the ice. Instantly it shot up her body, past her knees and surprised her.

Toshiro looked up slightly and Yoruichi saw a thin line of tears flowing down. "Toshiro... You found her didn't you?" The question came unconsciously.

"You knew. And didn't tell us." His response was cold.

"I'll tell you all I know when we get Ash back to the base okay?" The amount of sincerity in her tone even surprised herself.

"Fine."

-Akame and Rangiku-

"So that's where they're going." Akame said as she somehow heard Yoruichi and Toshiro's exchange. "Guess I'll follow. You should head back Ran, I can handle this myself."

"Ha, as if I'll let you do this yourself Captain. I have no idea what you're going through right now, but it doesn't look fun. So I'll be there as a friend not a lieutenant." Rangiku said with a large, genuine smile.

"Thank you." Akame tried to smile but was simply too emotionally drained to do so. Who could blame her really?

They took off into simultaneous shunpos and followed Toshiro's reiatsu since he couldn't hide it as well in his current mood. At the very least she could hope for is that she can at least get a response out of them and she prayed to anyone who would listen that Ash was okay, because after seeing the devastation caused by him and Kenpachi, she was sure that either combatant wasn't really 100% alive.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

"Is he going to be okay?" Toshiro asked with concern and sadness in his voice.

Yoruichi, who had patched Ash up and propped him upright in the healing pool had nodded. "He's one tough guy. He fought against one of the stronger captains while being handicapped and still managed to win." the tan woman stated with pride in her student.

"What is with his Shunko? I thought it was supposed to be lightening based. It was when he first used it wasn't it?"

"Well you see, everyone's Shunko starts off being Lightening based. But over the course of usage, it shapes to the person's relative reiatsu and aura. For Ash it's fire." She said as she motioned to the unconscious teen a few meters away from her. She saw Toshiro's eyes flash with interest for a second and already knew what he would say. "Sorry Shiro. I can't teach it to you. I took a big risk teaching it to your brother as is."

"Oh, I understand. What was the risk?" He asked with a slight tilt of the head and a raise of a brow.

"Well, don't be mad." She started and smiled sheepishly, "Since he has little knowledge of Kido, he had the possibility of killing himself. Since Shunko is combining Kido and haduka, there was a large chance of his reiatsu imploding. I think that's why he looks so drained, he used Shunko three times today. Poor thing must be in some serious pain."

"..." Toshiro looked on in annoyance. "So everytime he uses Shunko… he's killing himself?" The area grew slightly colder.

"Easy Snowball. He's only straining his body, he's not killing himself. I think. Look on the bright side, his Shunko is one of the most powerful ones I've ever seen." She said with a simple shrug. The teal-eyed teen sighed heavily once more and sat cross-legged a few meters away, allowing his thoughts to wander on Akame.

'**What's wrong Master? Your mind seems clouded.' **The dragon Hyorinmaru flew as he spoke.

'_It's because it is. I don't know what to do.'_

The dragon said nothing further. He soared in the air a bit longer before landing next to Toshiro, and coiling his giant body around his master, offering him some comfort. A small blizzard started to brew in their inner world but neither paid it any heed.

"Shiro." Yoruichi's voice snapped him back to reality. "Seems we have company." Her tone sounded as though she knew who was there. She did.

"Hi, Yoruichi." Akame said with a friendly smirk that didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey, Akame and Ran-san." Yoruichi responded with a careless wave. She figured that Akame had been smart enough to sneak here and conceal her presence and that the Captain wouldn't report them to the old man. But seeing that both Ash and Toshiro were here, she doubted that would be an issue. "Any reason you're here?" The tan woman had a vague idea but just wanted to hear her old friend tell her.

"Well...we came here to see the ryoka. Ash and Toshiro." The shorter woman sounded sad.

"You're not going to arrest them are you?" The tan woman chuckled.

"No, I won't and I won't allow anyone to do so either." Akame's declaration was absolute.

"Well, I trust you both. I have business to attend to. See ya for now." Yoruichi said as she reverted back to her cat form and shunpoed away. 'Good luck Akame, those two aren't little boys anymore.'

There was a tense silence for a few moments. Toshiro didn't move from his place and kept his gaze firmly on his sister. Rangiku crept around the room for a second before she walked over to Ash's unconscious body. Toshiro's stare fell on her for a second before disregarding her presence entirely and solely focusing on Akame.

"So, this is the kid that beat Captain Zaraki. Wow." Rangiku stated in awe as the thought of that battle entered her mind. "He's an attractive one." Rangiku said with a small laugh, causing her captain to glare at her.

"When I agreed to let you come here, I didn't agree to let you perv on my baby brother." Akame said in annoyance.

"But Captaiiiiiin, they're both pretty gorgeous. Plus they're powerful! What woman in the Gotei wouldn't want them?" Rangiku whined, trying to change the mood.

Toshiro cleared his throat loud enough to gain both female's attention. "Why are you here?" Toshiro asked with a vile tone.

"Oh Shiro," Akame pleaded, "I didn't want things to end up this way."

"Wait, what exactly happened?" Rangiku questioned with a tilt of her head. "When you told me you had brothers, I figured that they we're shinigami themselves."

"Yes, Akame. Care to explain to her what happened? Or better yet, I'll do it."

"No!" Akame protested. "I'll tell you; at least let me explain what really happened."

As Akame began the story, a red eye twitched a bit and opened minutely. It went undetected to everyone else but this proved advantageous to Ash as it allowed him to take in his surroundings.

-Thirteen Years Ago-

"_Akame-nii!" A much younger Toshiro yelled out. "Ash is being lazy again! Tell him to play with me!" _

_Akame smiled lightly and walked towards Ash, who had been lying on the floor a few feet away from the whining Toshiro, "Ash-kun. Shiro-chan wants to play with you. You should get up." _

"_Okay!" Ash suddenly exclaimed happily and jumped up, scaring the woman. Ash dove onto his brother and the two began to roll over on the floor. _

"_Okay boys, not too rough." The old maid, Fujita had told them soothingly. Ash and Toshiro played a bit calmer but continued to roll around without a care in the world. "That's better." Fujita said with a smile._

"_Thanks Fuji-san. Those boys can be a pain." Akame said with a wide grin. "Can you come to the kitchen?" _

"_Of course. Boys can you-" Fujita began, but Akame cut her off. "Just us please." The woman looked confused for a moment before she nodded._

_Akame and Fujita entered the kitchen and left Ash and Toshiro playing as they we're. "Shiro-nii. They left us again." Ash whined. The brothers sat down in silence and patiently waited for their care-takers to comeback. Ash's eyes suddenly widen and startled his white-haired family member._

"_What? Is there another one?" He asked, with his tiny voice filled with terror. He glanced around and tall man with brown hair and a nice-looking face. "Who are you?" Toshiro as he stood side by side from Ash, who had stood up._

"_I'm noone, little one. Can you see that ghost over there?" The man asked with a warm smile. Toshiro nor Ash responded. They both just glared at the man, and didn't move. "Oh, not enough manners to answer me? That's fine. You'll be seeing me in your life more than you'd like." _

"_Akame-nii!" Toshiro yelled out, causing the man to smile. Within seconds, Akame and Fujita appeared in the living room, looking concerned. "That man was here again." _

_Akame didn't say anything. Nor did Fujita._

_A few days later, Akame came up to the boys, "Hey, listen. Work has been hectic, so I'll have to go in extra early today. Got it?" She said with a gentle nudge to Toshiro._

"_Okay," He said happily, "Stay safe." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off. Ash too gave her a kiss on the cheek and raced to follow Toshiro._

'_Please forgive me boys.' She thought to herself before departing. Fujita knew where she was going and felt sad. "Take good care of them Fuji-san." _

"_Why must you go, can't the old man let you stay awhile longer?" The elder woman pleaded._

"_No, I've been here long enough."_

"_What do I tell the boys when they're sister isn't home for dinner?"_

"_Tell them I died in a car accident." Akame pulled out a piece of paper. "Show them this in a few days. I'm so sorry for this."_

"_Wait, why don't you just wipe their memories? Can't you captains do that?" _

"_Yes we can, but…" She paused. "I don't want them to forget me."_

"_That's rather selfish, is it not?" Fujita's wrinkly face smiled. "Don't worry, I'll watch over them. Just keep in mind, they will find you one day, and you will have to tell them why you left." Akame nodded._

"_That's a day I'm dreading more than my death. Goodbye Fujita-san." The young woman said with a low bow._

"_Goodbye Captain Arai." _

Akame Arai, captain of the 10th division broke down into tears. "I'm so sorry."

Toshiro's anger and left him and his being filled with confusion. Ash continued to be motionless in the pool with his hair now covering his eyes. "Why?" Ash spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Why did you bring us together if you knew you were going to leave?"

"Ash...you're awake.. I was sent to identify two spiritual pressures in the real world and happened to stumble on you two. It took me a while to figure out that those powers belong to both of you. When i figured it out, i requested to stay a bit longer in an attempt to take those powers away before you guys got yourselves or a loved one hurt, but I was too late. The Kita Family and Hitsugaya family were both slaughtered in a hollow attack."

"I see…" Ash whispered.

"Akame Arai…" Toshiro began slowly. He suddenly shunpoed in front of her and, without any warning, brought her into an embrace. "Stop crying Akame-nii, we forgive you."

"I would hug you too but I can't move." Ash said with a completely emotionless expression causing Toshiro to chuckle.

"We've got to go before someone finds us," Rangiku whispered, "See you guys later, Shiro-chan, Ash-kun."

As Akame and Rangiku departed, Ash looked at Toshiro, "There's something she's not telling us." Toshiro nodded.

"Yeah but let's just be glad she's with us now."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

-Continue-

Toshiro left the underground base shortly after Akame and her lieutenant left. He noticed that the sun was going down and briefly thought about staying in for the night. 'No, that won't do.' he told himself over and over. 'Maybe I could go to the Tenth Division.' He shook his head at the thought, 'that wouldn't be smart.' He stayed hidden until the full moon came out, only then choosing to shunpo across roof tops. It annoyed him how shinigami often traveled in packs, as it made it harder for him to pick one off for a brief interrogation. He stopped atop the highest building he could find and closed his eyes. Admittedly, his ability to sense reiatsu was that great; slightly above par at best, but he put that keenness to use. When his eyes close, he "saw" various white orbs in different locations around the Seireitei. He ignored the smaller ones, as he figured that they were not threat to him, he focused on the large colored ones and scowled. 'Those are the captains and lieutenants.'

"What ya doing?" Toshiro heard from behind him as he felt cold steel press against his throat. The white-haired teen's eyes shot open and he reached for his sword. "No, no Hitsugaya-kun." The male voice said as it caught his wrist.

"Who are you?" Toshiro questioned through gritted teeth.

"Now, Hitsu-kun. Ya aren't in a spot ta ask questions, are ya?"

Toshiro turned his head very slightly and looked out the corner of his eye to his attacker. He squinted heavily but saw nothing, but a brief flash of silver. The teen squirmed violently, trying to break free of this vice-like grip this man had on him, but the man didn't budge in the slightest.

"Anyways, ya nor the orange-haired kid nor that guy with the black sword are strong enough to take down Cap'n Aizen. But ya have immense potential. Keep this in mind kid, your eyes," He opened his own eyes very slightly; not that anyone can see it. "Can play tricks on ya."

Toshiro felt a strong force push him forward and a gust a wind behind him. He regained his balance shortly before hitting a wall, allowing him to cushion his fall. He gripped his sword tightly and swiftly turned around. "Tch." The guy had been long gone.

-The Human World-

It had only been two days since Ichigo, Ash, and Toshiro had left to go on a trip but it felt like five months. The lives of the Kurosaki family carried on fairly normally, aside from Isshin always attempting to "surprise" his son in anyway he could. Karin, ever since meeting that Hitsugaya had grown fond of him and, even though she would never admit this to anyone but Yuzu, missed him. They argued a lot, mostly because they have very similar personalities; both being as stubborn as two angry mules. She even hit him sometimes. But never with any real intent to hurt him, only to mildly annoy him. It worked every time and it always made her laugh at his anger. Ichigo would receive a beating when he returned. Not only had he just randomly left, but he also took Karin and Yuzu's first real male friends in a long time. Damn it Ichi-nii.

Yuzu on the other hand had tried not to think about the absence of her brother and best friend. She completely blocked them out and replaced them with cooking, cleaning and really anything else to keep her occupied. Well almost anything. Jinta had gotten….clingy over the past two days. He would often show up to the Kurosaki home unannounced and politely ask to speak to either Karin or Yuzu. While he got rejected every single time, he still found it necessary to return several hours later, or to follow them around in school. She remembered Ash's words and did her best to avoid him. She would have to tell him about Jinta when he got back. (She was fully aware of what he would _actually _do when he finds out.)

-Soul Society-

Akame sat in her office with Rangiku laying motionless on the couch. She quietly filled out paperwork and let the silence soothe her restless spirit. '_How'd we get into this mess Murasame?' _She questioned her inner spirit.

A little girl, no more than eight years of age, playfully hopped onto her shoulder. The child wore a plain red shirt with a flower bow in her purple hair. '_I dunno…' _The girl said, trying to sound mysterious. There was suddenly a puff of smoke and the girl disappeared. In her place, appeared a tall, shapely woman, whose figured rivaled that of Rangiku herself. _'But seriously. You know whose fault this is.' _

'_Yeah but how do I possibly tell them that? They'll kill me for sure.' _

'_Oh? Is the Captain of the Tenth Division finally scared of something?' _The woman jested despite the serious moment. Akame closed her eyes and said nothing. Murasame rolled her eyes and put her hand on her master's shoulder. "_Master, you did what you had to do." _

"_It saddens me to think that...there was another way to solve this problem. If only I had followed the plan." _

"_You not following the plans has made those two monsterous. Can't you put that memory aside?" _

Akame sighed. Not willing to answer, she pulled herself from her inner world and back to reality. The sun was up. Had she really done paperwork all night? Rangiku was still her and asleep on the couch. She looked out the window at the bright sunny sky and couldn't help but smile. Ash and Toshiro were alive and well. That thought had finally set in on her. Suddenly her senses were assaulted by the feeling of multiple shinigami roaming the halls with panic strongly in the air.

"Captain!" She heard from the other side of the door. It suddenly burst open to reveal several unseated shinigami, staring at her in disbelief. She turned to face them with hardened eyes and an intense scowl.

"Report!" Akame said with a stern shout.

"It's Captain Aizen, ma'am. He's been murdered!"

-The Fifth Division-

Toshiro, having nested in an abandoned building finally prowled around. Yoruichi had visited him in the dead of night, bringing a sip of tea and some advice. 'Ash is going to be fine.' She assured him. 'Also, I've heard that the Head Captain is not pleased with your whole "Rescue Rukia" team.'

Toshiro thought about that. This was no longer a simple rescue squad; this was… a war. The usually 'cold' teen sighed. Suddenly he heard a commotion not too far away from his position and thought about going to investigate. Though he thought against that idea, he didn't have time to shunpo elsewhere, as he felt a captain rapidly approaching.

"Shit." He swore.

**A/N: **_Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a review._


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

-Continue-

Toshiro felt the man closing in. His reiatsu felt… off. It wasn't hard to register this man as a captain, that much he guaranteed. But the way is presented itself didn't represent that of a true shinigami. He did his best to conceal himself from both sight and senses and watched from the shadows.

"You did it!" He heard a female voice shout. "You killed Captain Aizen!"

"Calm down Momo!" Another voice shouted, desperation clearly in his voice. The woman uttered a battle cry and a familiar metallic sound echoed throughout the area. Toshiro shunpoed a bit closer to the scene and something caught his attention. Hitsugaya's eyes widen and his mouth fell agape. He face contorted into one of shock and confusion. That man…

The same man whose plagued his childhood nightmares and his teenage daydreams. He never had in a name, but he always had that distinct smile and that air of calm, superior kindness. He saw the group of shinigami looking upwards towards a barren wall; him being slightly confused.

That man in question stood slightly behind the fighting shinigami with his back turned towards the white-haired teen. He didn't see the face but the hair and the aura surrounding him had an eerie similarity. He didn't move for a second and neither did Toshiro, but Toshiro had the vague idea that the man knew he was watching him. His suspicion was confirmed when the man disappeared from sight.

He felt a palm gently push him into the open. "Now, now. You shouldn't hide Hitsugaya-kun." The person behind him spoke. Upon hearing that unnervingly calm voice again after so long, his reiatsu spiked and his sword seemed to appear in his hand. He quickly turned on his heel and glared at... the empty space behind him. "Shit." He heard a collective gasp and froze in place for a brief moment before fully realizing the situation he was in.

"One of the ryoka! It was him who killed Captain Aizen!" Someone screamed from the crowd. Toshiro had very little time to react before a fire-ball flew at him with a surprising amount of speed. He side-stepped slightly to avoid it and jumped forward as the second one came from behind. Suddenly the person who shot both balls of flame shunpo-ed near him, with her sword primed to strike. Time seem to slow down for a second as he felt the slightest bit of wind behind him, giving him the knowledge that someone was there.

He threw his sword across his back and blocked the attack coming from behind and quickly stomped on the female's blade to force it into the floor. Toshiro then shunpo-ed a few feet away to make his opponents lose their balance; which happened far quicker than he expected. He watched them butt head and turned to leave as quickly as possible before he saw an unwelcomed sight.

The same sword that they had saw the very first hour they got here, _Shinso_, I think he called it, was several inches from his throat. Everyone stood still before Gin spoke, "Wow Gaya! Didn't think ya could sense me, let alone stop in time." He sounded enthusiastic.

Toshiro glared at the silver-haired man before Gin kneed him in the stomach, sending him back a few meters. Toshiro bit down on his lower jaw and barely avoided the second knee. Both he and Gin broke off into a simultaneous shunpo; becoming completely invisible to the shinigami who were just about to riot. A huge gust of wind suddenly blew by everyone and even caused some unseated members to fall backwards. "Captain!" The Third Division's Lieutenant yelled in concern.

Toshiro and Gin reappeared in the exact same spots they were previously. Toshiro sported his usual scowl and Gin, his mad grin. They clashed swords with a resounding "clang" and another wind blast erupted from contact. Gin's grin faltered ever so slightly as Toshiro lost his footing and a clear shot to his throat was revealed. '_Come on boy. I know you are stronger than this. You'll need to be if you hope to stand a chance.'_

He could've ended the white haired teen's life right then and there but he didn't. He instead opted to give the boy a shallow cut on the cheek as warning. He was however, surprised at the fact that Toshiro managed to not only parry the blade, but also counter in such a way that Gin, for the slightest instance, felt completely open.

He narrowly avoid Toshiro's attack and his grin widened.

"Captain Ichimaru." A cold, angered voice spoke bringing everything to a stand-still. Gin had sensed her coming but didn't bother to retreat; he hoped she would come a bit faster actually.

"Hiya Cap'n Arai." Gin said with his childlike glee. He spoke extremely casually for the situation he was in; having his blade still firmly pressed against Hitsugaya's.

'_Now's my chance.'_ Toshiro thought. Hitsugaya had very little knowledge of Kido, but the little he learned from Urahara would be vastly useful now. He channeled his reiatsu like he was told and pressed both palms on the floor. "Bakudo #21. Sekienton!"

As expected, a plume of red smoke appeared out of thin air and blinded Toshiro's white hair from the world. Akame was pleasantly surprised to see that Toshiro knew kido and briefly thought about what other kido Kisuke taught him. But now was not the time for pondering.

"Captain Arai, the ryoka is escaping! He killed Captain Aizen!" The girl with a bun in her hair said with tears in her eyes.

"Enough Hinamori. Going after him would be pointless." Akame said with her annoyance barely restrained.

"What?! How could you say that?!" The girl was hysterical now.

"If he took down someone as powerful as Aizen, what makes you think you could beat him?" Akame questioned in a tone that almost made the air visible. "Hinamori, instead of going on that suicide mission, why don't you try to get him down?"

No one said a word as Akame turned around and shunpo-ed over to Gin. She grabbed his coller and shunpo-ed away once more.

"Ichimaru…" She began to speak the moment she felt that they were far enough away to not be heard.

"Yes, Cap'n?"

"Did you kill Captain Aizen?" The question was quick and simple. Giving him no time to answer, she drew Murasame. The long sword with a purple rose guard and a purple and black hilt was swiftly placed on Gin's shoulder.

"Now, now, Arai. How could ya say such a thing?" Gin questioned, sounding rather suspicious.

Akame glared at the man. She really hated him. His constant on-again, off-again relationship with her lieutenant was really getting on her nerves. "That ryoka, do not mess with him. Nor the red-eyed one."

"Oh? May I ask why Cap'n?"

"Do it and find out." She warned.

Gin secretly knew who the boys were; all three of them. Ichigo Kurosaki was the strawberry, Ash Kita was the red-eyed one and Toshiro Hitsugaya was the last. He found out their identities during a meeting in the First Division not one week prior to this. The old man had announced the three as threats and, though he found it unlikely that they would ever invade the Soul Society, he told everyone to be on high alert. Akame was also at this meeting but it would appear that she wasn't paying attention again.

"Ichimaru. If I find out you hurt one of them, I _will_ slaughter you." Akame's stare was sometimes only rivaled by Unohana's.

"Wouldn't dream of it Cap'n."

**A/N: And this is where things will get AU. My story will be taking over. =)**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: 

-Continue-

Ash felt someone coming. His body was still far too weak and too hurt for him to defend himself. '_Hopefully they don't know about this place.' _He felt the person coming closer and closer to the entrance and hoped that someone would get here quickly. He shifted inside the healing water and made sure he didn't make a sound.

The cave's entrance was suddenly much darker than before and crowds of shinigami piled in, all wearing a full body garment. "Ash Kita." A female voice shouted. "We know you are here. You have five seconds to turn yourself in. Do not resist. If you do, you will be killed." The voice sounded militant and sounded as though she had rehearsed that line before.

Five seconds past and he heard a sigh. The rock formation he was hiding behind was then blown up and his eyes shot open. Ash immediately recognized the Stealth Force uniforms and glared at the captain. "How did you find me?" His voice surprisingly calm. He didn't expect an answer.

Soi-fong just stood there silent, as if taking in his appearance. He looked the same, save for bandages covering his arms; spanning from the palm to mid-forearm. It made him look far more intimidating and the tape covering his abdomen completed the look. "I take it you won't come quietly?"

Several Stealth Force members lunged at the injured boy, having long since resigned themselves to murder. Ash raised his right arm slightly and his hand ignited in his black flame. Soi-fong instantly recognized that stance and her eyes widen. "Stop! Retreat for now!" She commanded.

No one listened however, even her lieutenant Omeada blatantly ignored her order. "Shunk-." Ash was then cut off by a swift knee to the stomach, making him lose consciousness instantly. The boy fell forward, only to be caught by Yoruichi, standing angrily in her human form. She glared at everyone in attendance and vanished for a split-second before _all _ of the Stealth Force members flew back violently. "Soi-fong." She said sternly.

"Y-y- yorucihi-sama."

-With Toshiro-

"Damn it. That was too close." The white haired teen whispered to himself. A sudden flash of orange hair was his indication to stop. "Kurosaki!"

Ichigo looked a little worst for ware himself, having multiple cuts and bruises over his body. He seemed to be struggling to stand and his knees trembled ever so slightly. "Toshiro." His voice sounding pained.

He fell backwards slowly and was about to hit the ground until Hitsugaya shunpo-ed in front of him and grabbed his collar. "Toshiro, I couldn't save Rukia. I had her in my arms, but then Kuchiki Byakuya came and… it all went to shit so fast. He took down Ganju and took Rukia back to prison." The orange-haired boy spoke, voice barely above a whisper. Ichigo wanted to say more but broke out in a violent coughing fit, which shook his weakened body to the core.

The shorter teen narrowed his eyes ahead of him and propped Ichigo up on his own shoulders. Taking off in a shunpo, he ignored all the boy's protests and all the people that could surely sense him. He bobbed and weaved past buildings at a great pace, so fast that it made Ichigo temporarily pass out. As he neared the hidden base, he tried to seek out Ash's but for some reason, he couldn't. Something was wrong. _Very wrong._

The entrance to the underground training area had been busted open and the door was now gone completely. Toshiro started to worry but tried to assure himself that Ash was fine. Despite being in such a weakened state, he was sure the red-eyed boy could still take down several third seats without the use of his Shunko. Evidently he didn't use it and the room look fairly destroyed. Was there a fight? Did they sneak up on him? Did anyone die?

"Toshiro." Ichigo's voice brought him out of his musing. "Let's stop here. The night is falling."

It was true, the sun had just began to set and he didn't like traveling at night. "No Kurosaki." Ichigo winced at the name, it usually meant Toshiro was about to do something stupid or he was upset. Now seemed to be a mixture of both. "I have to go find my brother. I'll put a kido barrier in front of the door. Just go into that healing pool for now and by God man, don't leave this place." Toshiro started off seriously but finished in a more resigned tone.

Ichigo looked as though he wanted to argue but Toshiro's chilly glare made him swallow his words and settle for a nod. Hitsugaya wasted very little time in shunpo-ing away and heading towards any direction that wasn't here. He noticed that not very far was the kanji for 'one' on a large board. Figuring that was the first division, he turned on his heel and went elsewhere. The First Division's captain was the strongest according to Urahara and was to be avoided at all costs. He remembered that warning very clearly because it was the only time he saw Hat-n-Clogs serious.

He shunpo-ed in the shadows as he was taught, and kept his senses open. So far, he hadn't seen Rukia at all and was the only one to not fight with anyone yet. The boy felt a strong presence to his immediate left but he felt it too late. The pain was sharp but brief and all my forward momentum was stopped. He bit down on his lower jaw so hard, he thought his teeth my crack. He then felt a blow land to his ribs and violently threw into the ground below.

'Why the hell do I always get snuck up on?' He thought with a scowl. He hit the floor with a thud and a bit of a dust cloud formed. He laid on the cracked tiles for a second; allowing his body to adjust to the pain before he slowly rolled to his feet. His eyes snapped open when he saw that annoying grin and silver hair. Toshiro glared. Not this guy again. He knew there was no more running and a fight was inevitable.

He parted his feet slightly and felt a soft lump by his foot. He looked down quickly and jumped back in horror. The body of that girl he had saw earlier that day lay motionless in a puddle of her own blood. "Ichimaru. D-did you do that to this girl?" Hitsugaya for some reason got very angry. Furious.

Gin smiled, completely ignoring the boy's icy glare. "Nah, she did it to 'erself." Gin shrugged. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" '_Do something boy, Aizen is watching.' _

Toshiro started to emit a white aura and his eyes began to glow white. The white haired teen didn't even bother unsheathing his blade. Settling for just tearing it out of the sheath, he lunged at Gin with a strike primed to kill. Ichimaru's grin widen to an incredible extent and he withdrew Shinso at a blinding pace. Hyorinmaru met Shinso with a resounding **clang** and Toshiro felt the vibration through his hand.

Gin shunpo-ed above Toshiro's head and prodded downwards. Hitsugaya, stunned at the speed, barely managed to avoid the attack. He rolled out the way in the nick of time and quickly raised his sword to block an impending strike. Gin's volley didn't stop there. Hit after hit, one after another coming at an incredible pace.

'_What the fuck? His movements are damn-near perfect.' _Toshiro thought angrily. Time seemed to slow down for a bit before he could fully understand what was happening. Hitsugaya stuck out Hyorinmaru at an odd angle and adjusted his stance.

**CLANG**

Gin's eyelid's cracked very slightly. It was as though Shinso met a wall. '_About time boy.'_ Toshiro had very little cuts on his person but the scratches were visible. Gin's balanced was broken when Toshiro threw a sweeping kick at his legs, causing the man to jump. He happily stole Ash's move and quickly tapped his palm on the ground and forced a powerful kick towards Gin's chest.

Despite the kick being blocked, Gin still felt the force and flinched very slightly. Toshiro noticed Ichimaru's arm move slightly and rolled over to avoid the impending slash. Gin seemed to very happy about Toshiro's performance but wanted to see more. Ichimaru then stopped holding back and went full power without using his shikai.

Toshiro's eyes widen at the sudden reiatsu spike and on instinct, guarded his body. Gin disappeared and a cut appeared on Toshiro's cheek. Then another one appeared above his right eyebrow. Then finally a final cut appeared across his back. Hitsugaya shut his eyes tight and bit down on his lower jaw.

'_Come on boy.' _

"**Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyorinmaru." **Toshiro suddenly exclaimed. The gust of cold wind and reiatsu pushed Gin back a bit. Dark clouds formed over the area and the entire Seireitei got cold. So cold in fact that a vague mist began to form around Hitsugaya. The boy had a slightly smirk on his face as Gin looked at him with concentration. A thin layer of ice started spreading beneath Toshiro's feet and the wind picked up. Hitsugaya's sword went skyward and a dragon of ice shot out.

Hyorinmaru went directly into the clouds and roared a mighty roar, getting everyone's attention. Toshiro's sword guided the beast as right when his sword was pointed at Gin, the mighty dragon soared at the man with amazing grace and speed.

Ichimaru focused his most of his power into the tip of Shinso and pointed it directly into the mouth of the beast. Hyorinmaru roared once more before biting down on Gin's blade and forcing the man back quickly. After a few seconds, the dragon dissipated into mist and Gin smirked; but the smirk fell off of his face when two small cuts appeared on his cheek and eyebrow. Toshiro and Gin met each other once more with a powerful clash, and grinded their blades against one another for a second.

Toshiro glared at Gin's eyelids for a second before summoning another ice dragon to attack the man. Gin jumped back and easily pointed Shinso's tip at the dragon to shatter it again. But at the last moment, the dragon flew upwards and tried to flank the man. Ichimaru turned on a dime and tried to point the blade at the icy beast again but his arm went numb. He turned to his right arm and saw a narrow chain wrapped around his arm to the elbow, freezing it on contact. Toshiro smirked and Gin's eyes opened slightly to reveal troubled blue eyes. The dragon hit both men and bit into Gin's shoulder.

Toshiro made a mistake when he turned away from Gin, thinking the fight had been won. **"Shoot to kill, Shinso." **The reiatsu boost alone caused Toshiro's ice to fall off of his arms and the incredible sword shot at Hitsugaya with his unholy pace. The white haired teen turned just in time to see the blade nearing his eye. Somehow he managed to block the blade and fell onto his back.

"You sure you want to dodge that? The girl's gonna die!" Gin knew Toshiro didn't know the girl and he didn't expect for him to care in the slightest, but was mildly surprised when Toshiro's focused turned to the downed Momo.

The blade got closer and closer until a flash of orange appeared onto the scene.

-With Ichigo-

The boy slept peacefully in the healing pool and didn't notice when Yoruichi came back with Ash. He also didn't when Yoruichi threw Ash into the healing pool nor when she got into it herself.

It had been an hour before Ichigo awoke and he took in his surroundings. Ash was sitting upright in the pool with Toshiro not too far away from him. Yoruichi was nowhere to be seen, nor was Uryu, Chad, Orihime or Ganju.

"Guys, get up. We have a problem." Toshiro hadn't been sleeping in the first place and made a sound of acknowledgment. Ichigo opened his eyes fully and looked at the cat. Ash didn't move nor make a sound, but Toshiro didn't seem to see a problem.

"Don't worry, he's listening." He assured.

"If you say so. The others are back with Kukaku and from what I tell, you guys are all back to at least 90%. Rukia's execution," She paused and locked eyes with Ichigo. "Is tomorrow. I didn't want to tell you about this, but we have no choice. Do you know what Bankai is?"

Ash's eyes open slightly and Toshiro scowled. Ichigo's eyes narrowed on her and after a moment of silence spoke, "Yes, I've heard something about it. What is it?"

"It's the full power of a zanpakuto. Good question. It's ten times stronger than the shikai and it what's makes the captains _Captains._ Almost all captains have one, Kenpachi Zaraki being the only exception. You should know just how powerful is Zaraki is Ash," Yoruichi turned to face him slightly. The boy in question just shrugged and unconsciously rubbed the bandages still covering his arms. "Each of you have faced a captain and should know the power they hold. But that's just them in the base form. You'll need a bankai to beat a bankai."

Ichigo listened in silence until the last sentence. "So, how do we get a bankai?"

"Another good question. You usually train for about ten years to perfectly master it, but we don't have that time."

"So you've found a way to short-cut that, I assume?" Toshiro suddenly questioned. Yoruichi nodded seriously.

"It would take three days, but we don't have that time either." She then pulled out three purple pills with a with aura at the center. "These are reiatsu cultivation pills. They will power you up enough to learn bankai in a few hours."

"But? No way in hell that it does exactly what you said. And even if it has no more side effects, why isn't this mass produced?" Ash's voice, however lazy it was, spoke with a very serious undertone.

"Great questions. Well, this thing is very dangerous. Kisuke made a few of these and tested it on someone. Sadly, that guy's reiatsu imploded on itself and he died." That statement made each boy to fully give Yoruichi their attention. "There's a chance it might happen, so is that a risk you're willing to take?"

There was an immense silence in which everyone pondered the words just said to them. Everyone had a scowl and a tiny sweat drop along their brow. "Fuck it." They said collectively before each one took a pill and the power began to surge.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

-Atop the Sokyoku Hill-

Rukia, bound and defenceless, levitated a few inches from the ground at the base of the Sokyoku itself. In her presence, the most powerful Captains; Unohana, Shunsui, Ukitake, Akame and Yamamoto. Normally, the old man wouldn't order the company of his most deadly fighters but he was slightly interested in seeing with these ryoka were capable of. Him hearing of Kenpachi Zaraki, Ikkaku Madarame, Renji Abarai and Sosuke Aizen's defeat put him on edge slightly and he took as much time as possible on purpose.

Rukia slowly began to ascend towards to the monolith, eyes wide open every second. Panic and fear spread through her being and all hope left her. The looks across the faces of the attendees were solem with Akame being the only exception; her looking more annoyed than anything.

The top of the Sokyoku had a rather nice view, sadly it was only used for such a grim purpose, the short Kuchiki thought as she finally hit the top. Everyone looked so small and as she somewhat scanned the area, she could've swore she saw a flash of white for a very minor instance. The thought, as quick as it came, left and went desolate.

Muttering a silent apology to herself and everyone present for her failures, not only as a Shinigami but as a sister. She failed the entire Kuchiki family by letting her emotions get the better of her and making her lose her sense of judgement. All in all, had someone else been in this situation, she didn't know whether or not she would protest. Her thoughts went over many situations and possible outcomes, but none of them had her walking away from this alive. Then the heat wrapped around her body. Offering her a faux comfort.

"Release the Sokyoku!" Yamamoto bellowed, his voice sounding less than pleased. Within seconds of his command, the temperature soared to tremendous levels and the phoenix spawned before everyone. The magnificent bird, though artificial in origin, was almost natural in appearance. It lined itself with Rukia's tiny form and screeched loudly as if telling Yamamoto that it was ready to strike.

The eldest man looked towards the younger Captains to issue a quiet warning to them. Despite being silent throughout the whole ceremony thus far, Akame started to feel a bit uneasy about the whole ordeal. She had been in many battles in her long life, but for some reason, she opted to close her eyes as the Sokyoku neared the petite Kuchiki girl.

She heard a gasp and her eyes snapped back open. She knew that the artificial bird couldn't be stopped, because that's what they taught in the Shinso Academy, but to stand here and _actually see the behemoth stopped _was one the most incredible things she'd ever seen.

"Yo." One orange-haired brown eyed man said. Rukia had closed her eyes mid-ascension and now they had shot open. Ichigo simply _looked_ stronger to her. He wore a coat over his shinigami uniform and, less visibly, an air of confidence. He appeared to be floating directly in front of her and wore a calm grin.

"Ichigo! Why are you here?!"

"To save you, obviously." Ichigo snorted at the question.

"By yourself?!"

"Why are you getting so flustered? Of course not by myself."

It was at that moment that the giant fire bird reared back. "Sadly Rukia, he isn't alone." The irritated voice of Toshiro said. Rukia turned her head towards the left wing almost scarily quick. Hitsugaya just stood there, looking disconcerned, like he usually did. He looked similar to Ichigo, mirroring both uniform and cloak, but instead was surrounded by an air of annoyance rather than confidence.

Ichigo had stumbled in the air slightly as the bird recoiled but quickly regained balance. "Oh, I forgot about you."

"How?! How did you forget about the massive pigeon over here?" Toshiro asked with a facepalm.

At this point, Yamamoto had heard enough. The old man spiked his reiatsu to let everyone know that he was, in fact, still here. "Do it now Kurosaki!" Toshiro commanded.

Ichigo didn't bother responding. He acted swiftly, holding his large blade in both hands and bringing down them down in a powerful swing. "Getsuga Tensho!"

The resurgence of energy was strong enough to completely blow off the Sokyoku's wing and forcing it back a few feet. That stunned the captains present and even brought a ghost of a smirk to Yamamoto's aged face. He watched the bird come crashing down and was mildly impressed that this boy actually had the power to do so in a single attack.

Once the bird actually hit the ground however, Ukitake and Shunsui shunpo-ed to either side and within moments, the massive bird exploded. The explosion was accompanied by a strong gust of wind and some fiery debris.

Rukia was speechless, save for a gasp when Ichigo gently but hastily picked her up over his shoulder. "Ichi-" She began but swallowed her words as she realized the boy's idea.

"Don't throw me!"

"Huh? Renji's right there."

"Don't. Throw. Me!" Rukia said through gritted teeth. Ichigo sighed but thought about his current situations and just hopped off of the monolithe with Rukia in a tight grip. Mid-fall, Ichigo gave a nod to Toshiro.

Hitsugaya unsheathed Hyorinmaru and simply tapped the misty blade's tip a few centimeters from his feet. A thin ice sheet spread for a few seconds before Toshiro embedded Hyorinmaru into the wooden structure, only few centimeters deep.

Everyone's eyes widen slightly as they watched the structure be completely covered in ice. Everyone fixated on Toshiro and either didn't notice, or completely ignored the presence of another person arriving on the scene.

The ice then shattered along with the structure and left Toshiro in the air, falling almost in slow motion. A smirk graced his lips before the old man disappeared. Shunsui and Jushiro's eyes hardened slightly, Unohana's smile faltered for a second before turning his eyes to Akame, whom looked so stressed out, she could pass out at any second.

Yamamoto reappeared behind the falling boy threw a powerful punch towards the back of his head. Hitsugaya's eyes rolled into the back of his head before he…. Shattered?

The old man's eyes cracked open slightly with interest when the ice close shattered and the boy's reiatsu wasn't anywhere near. "Oh dear." The ever graceful Unohana whispered. She saw a vein pop out of the man's forehead. Suddenly, something felt different. Like, there was someone here who shouldn't be. The feeling got her head turning towards the east; the same direction as the Central 46.

As she took off in that direction, Yamamoto landed on the ground between Shunsui, Jushiro and Akame.

"You two!" He yelled, referring to Ukitake and Kyoraku. "How dare you destroy the Sokyoku?! You two have done what no captain should ever do!"

Jushiro's sweat dropped slightly and he gave a sheepish grin. The man tried to explain the situation but was cut off when Shunsui grabbed him by the shoulders. "Hehe, no time to explain. Let's go Juu."

He and Jushiro shunpo-ed away at an amazing pace and left Yama-ji standing in place with an annoyed scowl. "Captain Arai. Hunt down the ryoka. Unohana seems to have gone long ahead of us." With those words, he vanished with his reiatsu circling around him dangerously.

Now of course Akame had no real intention of hunting down anyone. She would refuse Yamamoto's order this one time.

Soifon had now appeared on the scene with a legion of her stealth force members. She looked serious and a bit disappointed. Akame had never seen such an emotion of her friend's face; she looked as though she expected to see someone. Akame simply paid the woman no heed until Soifon got close.

"Arai! Where are they?" Soifon's voice was steeled.

Akame scowled at the tone and question. "Where is who?"

"The ryoka boys. The older one is there with fighting Kuchiki. Where is the one that fought Ichimaru and Zaraki?" By her tone of voice and the look in her eye, Akame could tell Soifon meant no good. It honestly irritated her to no end when someone so blantly wanted to cause her little brothers harm. But yet, she swallowed her anger and answered professionally.

"I have no idea where the ryoka are Captain Soifon. As you can see, there was only two here to begin with, and the white-haired one turned out to be a clone."

Soifon was preparing to respond but was swiftly cut off when a figure slammed into her and made them both fall off of Sokyoku Hill and into the forest below.

"Thanks Yoruichi." Akame whispered to herself with a small grin. That just left her surrounded by members of the Stealth Force. Normally she didn't care for the group but today, the seemed to be looking at her as though she was the enemy. It may have just been her mistaken, but she didn't take any chances.

A violet glow surrounded her tiny form. She unsheathed her sword slowly and deliberately. The very second the tip of Murasame felt the air, she vanished into an extremely quick shunpo. So quick in fact, to the Stealth Force members, she only seem to get slightly blurry for a short moment.

-With Toshiro-

Akame had told him the previous night to head to the Central 46 chambers the moment his ice clone was broken. He didn't know why he was here or what he was supposed to do, but he came nonetheless. Rangiku appeared beside him with her almost sickening amount of glee. "Hello Toshiro!" the woman exclaimed, much to Toshiro's annoyance.

"It's Hitsugaya! Anyway, why are you here?"

"Captain sent me here. She said she wanted us to investigate around here. Said she had a bad feeling."

Toshiro sighed. He wanted to chastise his sister but his own gut feeling had led him and Ash to do some rather crazy things. Speaking of Ash… "Hey, have you seen Ash? I haven't seen him since the mission briefing."

Rangiku just gave a small shake of her head and shrugged, "I haven't seen him either. I mean, you know better than me that _that _guy can defend himself. Didn't he fight and beat Zaraki?"

"I guess."

Stepping into the Chambers, Rangiku's eyes sharpened. Toshiro could feel it too. Which was odd, because he couldn't feel _anything_. That wasn't right. Toshiro felt shivers go down his spine at the darkness and silence of the place.

"Ugh, in here feels dead." Rangiku muttered.

Toshiro didn't respond nor paid her any attention. He felt himself grow nauseous with the sight of the next room. Bodies. Bodies everywhere. The scent of the place had grown to resemble that of decayed flesh and bone. Toshiro gasped and gave a dry heave.

"Leave if you'd like Hitsugaya. Someone your age shouldn't have to see this." The blonde woman said, voice sounding professional. Toshiro was very nearly going to throw up but he held it back with a harsh swallow. He gave her a pained scowled before shaking his head, indicating he can continue.

Stepping further into the Chambers, they found a narrow corridor with a dim light at its very end. Rangiku had informed the white-haired teen that that place is off limits too all shinigami, save for Yamamoto. "Matsumoto. Go find Akame. Tell her what we've found. I'll investigate further."

Rangiku looked at the boy and was prepared to give him an ear-full but silenced herself when he began stalking forward, hand on hilt, looking dangerous. Instead she sighed. "Look, just don't get yourself killed. Captain would be all depressed again." The buxom woman shunpoed away the instant the final word left her lips.

'Again?' Hitsugaya thought before creeping further.

Everything was dark. Visibility was very low and Hitsugaya's only source of light was his reiatsu covered hand which was raised defensively. He saw a light at the end of the corridor and sharpened his eyes on it.

His eyes widen at the sight. That girl he saw the other day, Hinamori was it? She was lying face down in a pool of her own blood, motionless. Toshiro rushed to her side but hesitated when he heard that disturbingly calm voice.

"Why hello Hitsugaya-kun." Toshiro froze at the mention of his name. "Fancy seeing you here."

Toshiro didn't bother turning to face the man, he knew he couldn't. A feeling of despair filled the teen's being, almost paralyzing him. "By that look on your face Hitsugaya-kun, I take it you remember me." Aizen said with his gentle smile.

Toshiro didn't say anything. He just stood there as if something was holding him in place. It was until Aizen walked up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder before his body moved. Toshiro rapidly turned around and swung his sword furiously. Aizen dodged the attack gracefully and simply held out his hand to catch Toshiro's swing aimed at his throat.

"Now, now Hitsugaya-kun. That wasn't nice." Toshiro heard none of that. He shunpo-ed back and did a backflip just to ensure he was far from this man.

"Bankai!" Toshiro exclaimed much to Aizen's surprise. The room grew colder instantly. Toshiro's reiatsu spiked to extreme levels and his being began to glow white. Aizen's smile had all but fallen from his face and been replaced with concentration. A wave of freezing reiatsu washed over Aizen like a blanket of snow. Thick mist descended into the room due to the supercooled being still powering up.

Aizen sighed and let his own reiatsu leak a bit to force the mist to return visibility. He smirked with interest when he saw Hitsugaya's bankai up close. Toshiro's sword had remained the same but that was the extent of the similarities. The boy had grown massive ice wings, easily twice his height in length. From his hands to elbows had been covered by ice, acting as armor and his fingers had been covered with ice claws, clearly sharp enough to cut steel.

"**Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"** Toshiro exclaimed. Aizen felt mildly impressed by the boy's sheer reiatsu. For a human boy, it was astounding and for someone so inexperienced to accomplish such a feat really peaked the Captain's interest. Toshiro dashed at the man with one strong flap of his wings.

Aizen appeared to be lost in thought as this happened but when he easily avoided Toshiro's swing, Hitsugaya knew he was greatly outmatched.

"So you've learned Bankai? What a nice surprise. However, I can assume this was forced and not natural." Aizen stated as though he knew who's doing this was. "Your Bankai, though powerful, is immature. I can see the strain on your face. This wouldn't be the works of those little purple pills would it?" Aizen said calmly as he dodged a barrage of attacks from Toshiro with no effort at all.

Toshiro grew visibly more annoyed with each swing of his sword. He couldn't hit this man, no matter how hard he tried. That's not what annoyed the boy however, not at all. It was the fact that Aizen was toying with him. Aizen could've killed him at any point. He knew it, Hyorinmaru knew it and Aizen most definitely knew it. It was why that sickening smile had yet to leave his face.

"Okay, Hitsugaya-kun. That was fun but-" with one swift swing of Aizen's blade, he sliced Toshiro's chest open, almost completely revealing ribs. Blood sprayed everywhere and Toshiro's eyes widen. The boy went numb and stood completely still for a second. Toshiro then fell to one knee and, much to Aizen's surprise, shattered.

The real Toshiro then came into view, Bankai still activated, looking very worn out. "I know i shouldn't have used more than one." He panted. The Captain wasted little time is slicing the real Toshiro down, leaving a large gash over his heart.

"My, my Hitsugaya-kun. You are the very first person in a very long time to surprise me. I must commend you." Aizen turned to walk away but not before watching the boy fall to the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Ah, ice looks beauty this time of year."

With the first step Aizen took, he felt the presence of another being. A being that he subconsciously feared and, if need be, would take this person down himself. Retsu Unohana had arrived on the scene.

**A/N: A long one. But I'm just gonna skip the Aizen/Unohana encounter, we already know what happened. Next Chapter will probably be them returning to the Human World (finally) and fluff. Until then mates.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

"Do not move, Captain. Or should I call you Sosuke Aizen, the traitor of the Gotei 13?" Unohana said with a hint of malice in her tone. By her body language, Aizen could tell she wasn't here for a friendly chat and some tea. Behind her, her lieutenant Isane stood completely terrified. She shuddered in place before a slight movement caught her attention. Hitsugaya struggled to get to his knees with his body shaking violently.

-Moments Later-

Gin chuckled a bit before seeing Toshiro fully make it to his feet, albeit barely. He pulled out a long white scroll from seemingly nowhere before throwing it in the air and muttering an incantation The white paper wound itself around the duo before enclosing. Seconds later, it nor Aizen nor Ichimaru were anywhere to be seen or sensed.

After ensuring that they were infact alone, Unohana turned her attention towards the wounded boy. She felt bad for the child to have to had experienced this at such a young age. However, she felt more respect for him than anything else; she saw first-hand his endurance and felt the power of his bankai. "Hitsugaya-kun. I feel that movement isn't really what your body needs now." She said delicately.

Toshiro heard her words clearly but chose to ignore them. "H-he… must, d-die.." The boy managed to squeeze out before finally passing out from blood lost.

Retsu sighed. "Isane, can you send out the emergency broadcast to all captains? We have a major problem and this boy is in need of medical attention."

-Atop Sokyoku Hill-

Aizen chuckled coldly when he had finally retrieved the Hogyoku from the petit Kuchiki's body. Not a second went by before he heard a feral voice exclaim his name.

"Aizen!" Sajin all but howled. The fox-man brought down a powerful swing with both hands just about the 5th's Captain. Aizen's didn't seem to be paying attention but stunned everyone when he caught the animal's blade with his bare hand. With nothing but raw power, Aizen forced him back and put the Hogyoku away.

"**Hado #90. Kurohitsugi." ** The man whispered ever so calmly. Sajin stood frozen for a second before a massive black coffin formed over his body, blocking him from view. Moments later, the coffin came down to reveal Sajin's body covered in lacerations and bruises. "Now then, who's next?" Aizen said scanning the area. The ryoka boy was there along with his friends whom was currently being subdued by Gin, a wounded Captain Kuchiki had just left the scene and his sister lay on the floor traumatized

Ichigo was the first to attack with Tensa Zangetsu still activated. He slashed at the former captain with all the power he had left but it proved futile as Aizen's response was to simply raise a finger. Ichigo's eyes widen at Aizen's indifference and could do little else as the man cut him down with one procise slash.

Renji, enraged at the sight, whipped Zabimaru towards the man. But this too proved to be useless as Aizen simply caught the sword in his palm. With a tug and a swing of Kyoka Suigetsu, Renji spurted blood and fell. Aizen appeared to be disappointed at Ichigo's power and solemnly shook his head. "I'm a bit saddened Kurosaki-kun. I thought you were stronger than that."

Ichigo couldn't respond. He just lay on the floor just where Aizen had cut him and stared into the sky with a listless gaze. "You ryoka have failed to meet my expectations." Aizen said as he raised his sword over Ichigo's head, fully intending to end the boy's life.

He brought the sword down swiftly but his eyes hardened when the blade met earth. Gin's eyes cracked open a bit in surprise and began to scan the area for the boy. He found him rather quickly at the side of Orihime being held up by another cloaked figure with tape covering their arms.

The cloak was high enough to cover the person's face completely save for those piercing red eyes. "Oh, hello Kita-kun. How nice of you to join us." Aizen spoke politely.

Gin felt a bit unease and excitement as Ash gently placed the boy down and turned his attention to the former Captain. It was at this moment that Soifon, Yoruichi, Unohana, Rangiku and the other captains came to the scene, including Yamamoto and his two students. Yoruichi to Ichigo's side and stood in front of him protectively. Akame looked at the intense gaze that Ash gave Aizen and felt a shiver.

"The entire Gotei? This day just keeps getting better." Aizen said finally taking off his glasses. "I noticed, Captain Arai, that your little brother isn't here." Akame's ears perked up. "Captain Unohana, how are his injuries? I shouldn't have hit him so hard." The man mocked.

Retsu's smile was replaced with a sharp glare. "Be careful everyone. You have been notified of his abilities."

Before anyone could do anything however, Akame lunged at the man with a glare to rival Yamamoto's. She swung her sword so quickly that it was barely visible to even the Captains. It met Aizen's flesh with a sickening sound and completely bisected the man. To the shorter woman's surprise, "Sosuke" shattered into nothing but thin air leaving only his glasses on the floor.

Akame expected to feel the cold sting of steel hitting flesh but after a very brief moment, nothing came. There was a silent gasp behind her and it made her shunpo forward on instinct. The sight she saw once she turned around shocked her more than anyone else.

Ash stood beside Aizen with a firm grip on his wrist. He had stopped the attack mere centimeters from his sister's head. "I see Kita-kun. You are far faster than the others." Aizen complemented, not even trying to hide his excitement. Ash just glared at him and kept the iron grip on his wrist.

Aizen used his other arm to throw a quick punch towards Ash's chest. The red eyed boy raised his forearm up to block the attack but grossly underestimated the power behind the fist. Ash's eyes widen for a moment as he slid back and tried to regain his balance. He narrowly side-stepped a strike Aizen had sent towards his left shoulder and shunpo-ed away to avoid a prod at the heart.

Ash reappeared a few feet away in a sprinting position and his head facing the floor, "Shunko." He whispered as he locked his eyes with the former Fifth Division captain. With his fire surrounding him and his sister safe, Ash smirked. It was time to show everyone just how fast he was. He slowly took off his cloak and threw it to the ground but vanished before it actually hit dirt. He appeared behind Gin and brought down a powerful axe kick.

Gin just barely avoided the attack but the impact from Ash's attack was tremendous enough to force everyone back a few inches. Tosen, whom had been silent that whole time, felt now it was time to attack. He attempted to unsheath his sword but only got half the blade out as Ash grabbed his right arm and forced it back down. "**Tora no Tsume**" Ash exclaimed and he held a fist behind him. His aura formed over the appendage in the shape of a claw, and with great speed, he attacked the blind man.

The explosion of black reiatsu was incredible and even Yamamoto had to crack a single eye open to ensure he didn't miss anything. A massive dust cloud and fire spread throughout the area and Yoruichi couldn't help but give a smirk as Akame looked at her with surprise and awe. 'Thata boy Ash!' Yoruichi thought for a moment as the dust settled. Ash's eyes widen to their limits as he saw what the blow connected too.

Aizen stood between him and Tosen with a face of awe and one palm extended to catch Ash's attack. He looked untouched aside from the slightly singed clothes and hand. "Rather impressive Kita-kun. But," Aizen paused and jumped back suddenly. Shinso shot through Ash's shoulder forced the boy forward quite a bit before coming to a stop mere inches away from Akame. The pained look in Ash's eyes temporarily stunned the woman, but the stunned expression quickly went to terror as Aizen shunpo-ed in front of Ash and blood splattered everywhere.

"I'm afraid my time here is up." Aizen continued with Ash's blood covering some of his clothes. A beam of light shot down around Aizen, Gin and Tosen and completely protected them from the outside world.

"I do want to know however, Kita-kun. Why didn't you use your Bankai? Hitsugaya-kun and Kurosaki-kun both used theirs and I'm sure you have one. So why not?" Aizen saw Ash's unconscious form on the floor in a puddle of his own blood and didn't expect a response. He didn't get one from anyone in the time it took for him and his partners to ascend into to the Garganta.

"Gotei 13." Yamamoto addressed. "We are now at war with a powerful adversary. We cannot let our guard down at any moment. Captain Unohana, take the injured and ryoka to the fourth division. It is my knowledge that one is already there."

Akame felt her stomach turn over but remained stones faced by Ash's side. "Yes Head Captain. The other ryoka's wounds were bad, but nothing life-threatening like this." She stated formally with the second half more directed at Akame than anyone else. She released Minazuki a few moments after that and Akama watched in silence as her brother was swallowed by the healing beast. With those words being spoken and the threat of war hanging over everyone's head, each captain and lieutenant shunpo-ed towards their respective divisions.

-The next day-

"So, Rukia. What did you want to talk to me about?" Ichigo questioned after they left Kukaku's home. They had been walking aimlessly for quite some time now and he felt the time was right for him to speak.

"Well…" The girl began playing with her fingers. "I just want to thank you for saving me and all. You didn't have too."

Ichigo noted her nervous body language and tilted his head slightly. "W-well, It wasn't just me." He cleared his throat. "And besides, I told you I was coming. You just didn't know I wasn't coming alone."

"Speaking of which, how did you manage to convince Ash and Toshiro to come? Hitsugaya isn't really the most friendly person around and Kita isn't really a fan of moving." She joked.

"Well, they don't hate you. In fact, they think you're a good friend and I told them I wouldn't flip out if they dated my sisters. Which was, in fact, a lie." Ichigo shrugged. "They're honestly pretty sappy when it comes to those two. Like how they came here and risked life and limb just to have a _chance_ to be with them."

A blush crept onto Rukia's cheeks. "Like what you did?"

The second those words left her lips, Ichigo immediately regretted everything. He took on his usual in an attempt to hide the ever growing blush on his own cheeks. "Um. Anyways, are you coming back to the Human World?"

"Oh, yeah. That's kinda what I came here to talk to you about. I'm not going back with you." Rukia said carefully.

Ichigo looked a bit disappointed by the news. His scowl was replaced with a calm, disheartened look but said nothing. "Soul Society is my home and I can't just leave."

"Yeah, no. I understand. But promise me you'll visit. Okay?" He left no room for a denial anyways. Before Rukia could respond however, Ichigo began to move closer to her. His body appeared calm but his mind was in a storm. He cursed Toshiro's name to all Hell for somehow talking him into this. He got a few inches away from the petit girl and leaned in much to her surprise.

"Um. Ichigo what are you doing?" Rukia's face was blood red and her body froze. Ichigo's face came centimeters from hers before the boy smirked. Her embarrassment was the most entertaining thing he's seen since he got here. Ichigo gave the girl a quick peck on the forehead before turning away and shunpo-ing away as if his life depended on it leaving Rukia fuming in annoyance.

-At the northern Gate-

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Yoruichi asked cheerfully. She gazed upon the tired group with amusement. Orihime and Uryu had bags under their eyes but they seemed wide awake, Chad's eyes weren't visible, Ichigo was fully wrapped in bandages and somehow fully awake alongside Toshiro and Ash was still asleep with him laying all his bodyweight on Toshiro's side. The white haired boy had his own injuries but they didn't need anything more than some kido-infused wrapping and some rest.

Once they entered the Senkaimon, Toshiro picked Ash up as he knew he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. After all they've went through he felt Ash deserved a long sleep. The fight against Aizen had been yesterday and they weren't supposed to be moving around but thanks to Unohana's tremendous efforts and Orihime's healing, they were back up and around albeit sorely. Toshiro noted the blush on Ichigo's face and the look of uncertainty and wanted to smirk. It looked a lot like some red-eyed guy currently passed out on his shoulders.

The walk through the Dangai was pretty uneventful as they went through at a fast pace. Everyone simply just wanted to go home. They arrived back to Urahara's shop mere minutes later and all just flopped down. Since Toshiro still held Ash on his shoulders, the red-eyed boy landed on the wooden floor with a thud but still didn't wake up.

Yoruichi had gotten used to the idea that the boy was a heavy sleeper so she paid him no heed. She noticed the incredulous looks and laughed. "Hey, stop staring. My student has been through a lot, the most the guy deserves is to sleep."

Ash's gigai just walked up to the boy's body and fell on top of him to give him back his human form. The boy coughed up the gigai pill but somehow remained asleep.

Toshiro rolled his eyes at this and picked him up harshly. "Okay, guys. We're done here. If you need us, you know where we live but please for the love of everything that's holy, don't need us. Get up boy!" Toshiro suddenly exclaimed, much to everyone's surprise.

Ash made no sudden movements however, just calmly opened his eyes. "Damn it Shiro." He groggily stood up and scowled at the world before him. "I hate all of you." His voice sounding raspy.

"Ah, shush. Stop being grumpy. You'll sleep when we get home." Toshiro responded sounding more like a parent than a brother. Ash just grumbled darkly to himself and they made they're way out of the compound.

-Kisuke and Yoruichi-

"Um, Kisuke. We have a problem." Yoruichi suddenly said in a serious tone.

Kisuke normally would disregard her but judging by what they just found out about Aizen and his intentions, jesting now would be foolish. "Hmm?"

"I gave the boys the pills."

The man's eyes hardened in a rare scowl. His face stoned and his mind ran at a million miles a second. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "Did they show any side effects?"

"Only Ash. His reiatsu is… different. Like beyond wild. I swear it looks like even _he _ has problems keeping it in check. As for the other two, I saw nothing out of the ordinary."

"I see, and from what I understand, they all have Bankai. Did they all use it?" The man asked in genuine interest and slight concern.

"Hitsugaya and Kurosaki used theirs. I didn't see the former's but I know lots of people felt it. As for Kita…once again, he seemed scared to use it. Those pills really fucked up his power."

Kisuke sighed. "We have to watch him and at the very least, those were the last three pills in existence. How'd they perform in combat?"

Yoruichi took on a smile at the question and proceeded to tell Kisuke about the power of their pupils.

-Ash and Toshiro-

"Toshriooooo, I thought we were headed home." Ash whined. Toshiro looked at his brother in disgust.

"Are you whining again?!"

"We're going to the Kurosaki's huh?" Ash's expression suddenly switched from tired and grouchy to his usual friendly disposition and the shy expression he'd developed whenever he faced Yuzu. Toshiro wanted to smirk at the boy. Ash was only slightly younger than he was but he acted like such a child when he was sleepy.

They got to the Kurosaki house in record time and hastily knocked on the door. There was a brief pause before they heard the voice of Isshin and the front door open slowly.

Isshin's heart sank when he saw the boys and was extremely tempted to close the door and run far, far away. He let them come inside and wisely backed away.

Upon entering the Kurosaki home, they were met by Ichigo's demonic glare directed at the stairs. Toshiro followed his gaze until it came along two to two people who weren't supposed to be there.

Kagawa and Jinta sat there, face looking both shocked and terrified and mouth hanging agape. "Hello, Kita and Hitsugaya." Kagawa said with a disgusting smirk. Ash felt his anger sky-rocket but remained expressionless for the time being.

"Why are you here?" Ichigo ground out as Isshin fully left the scene. Karin had told him about those two trouble makers and Ichigo had seen first hand of what Jinta would go through to be with Yuzu.

"Didn't you hear? We're here for our dates."

Those words left Kagawa's lips and the room's atmosphere shifted drastically. Ash's body shook slightly in anger and his reiatsu spiked. His reiatsu spiked so high that even Toshiro had to admit that it was becoming harder the stand this close to the boy and not be overwhelmed. "Care to explain, Hotaru?" Ash ground out through teeth gritted so tightly, it looked like they were about to shatter.

"Ash, calm down." Toshiro tried to soothe but got nothing but a sharp glare as a reply.

"No Shiro, I want to know because it's always these fuckers whenever we leave to do something. And I'm really growing tired of it." The killing intent was dropping off the boy's every word and action.

Suddenly, the Kurosaki sisters calm down the stairs and Ash's reiatsu completely ceased. Karin looked very angry and Yuzu looked slightly sick but that changed when they noticed the three extra people in the room.

"Ichi-nii, Ash-kun, Toshiro-kun!" Yuzu exclaimed with joy. She ran to hug her older brother with Karin right on her heels. Her happiness quickly faded away as she realized fully what situation they were in. As if Karin's knew what she was thinking, both twins eyes snapped open and across the room to the angry brother standing in place.

"H-hey guys. Um, I can explain what's going on." Karin said sheepishly. Ichigo too, finally realized the situation they were in and turned to stare at Kagawa and Jinta as if mourning them. "Well, you see, the school kinda had an impromptu dance and we didn't want to go but they just kinda showed up." Toshiro thought it was a lie at first but then noted that the girls were in fact dressed casually, and calmed himself down.

Not so much for Ash though. "Kagawa… Jinta…" Ichigo said somberly. "I fully recommend you run _now._ The past few days hasn't really been the best for me and it's damn sure hasn't been Ash's best. So, if you'd kindly…" Ichigo trailed off and hoped that they got the hint.

Jinta looked as though he was about to protest before Ash shot him a glare so cold and unforgiving, even Yuzu felt a chill run down her spine. With no more words being spoken, Kawaga and Jinta reluctantly left the building but no before trying and failing to bump Ash on the way out.

'_I don't think those boys realize just how close to death they were.' _Toshiro thought to himself.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Yu-chan." Ash tried to apologize but Karin's laughter caught him off guard.

"My God, Ash. Over-protective much. I understand you love her and all but damn, you even scared me and I have my ice block next to me." She said, ruffling Toshiro's hair; something he would normally object too but only gave her palm a quick peck to make her pull away, blushing madly.

Ash actually pouted and gave Yuzu a kiss on the forehead. _'It's almost sad that you don't love me as much as I love you.'_

**A/N: Those pills had some kind of effect on Ash, but what happened? Be sure to review, and see you next time.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

It was hot. Normally for this time of year, the air would be slightly crisp but due to a sudden heat wave washing over Japan, the area was blistering. Ichigo could barely sleep in this temperature. He rolled out of bed early and immediately threw his shirt from his person. Some sweat dripped down his body as he willfully strode downstairs. Karin and Yuzu were sitting at the kitchen table, eating with some pancakes set up just for him.

"Ichi-nee," Karin almost panted. "What's wrong with the AC?" Ichigo wiped some sweat from his brow and rolled his eyes.

"Ask your father. He had the bright idea to "fix" it instead of calling someone." Ichigo began fanning himself with his hand and groaned. "This heat is insane."

"Yeah, it's so hot, school shut down for the day." Yuzu chirped in. "What should we do? I feel like the sun in at our front door."

Ichigo shrugged and thought of all possible options. They could just go to the mall and soak up the cool air there like sponges, but that was too far. They could just go to the Kurosaki Clinic, but Ichigo feared that their dad was there and would force them to work. The only other option was the beach. They could just ask dad to lend Ichigo the car for the day, but with only the three siblings it wouldn't be as fun.

Then he got a call. The caller ID read as "Guy with Hat" which he recognized to be Kisuke. The man hadn't spoke to Ichigo since he returned from the Soul Society three weeks ago, so it puzzled the orange-haired teen as to what the man wanted.

"Hello?"

"Ichigo-kun. How are you this fine day?" Kisuke sounded as happy as he normally did, which made Ichigo slightly uncomfortable.

"What do you want Urahara?" Ichigo groaned.

"Always straight to the point. Well we have some _guests_ here. Apparently they're on vacation. Now, can you be their tour guide for the next two days or so?"

"No."

"Great! They're on their way now to Karakura Hotel, be sure to meet them there. And Kurosaki-kun, be sure to wear some trunks. They want to go to the beach." Without a moment's hesitation, Kisuke hung up the phone, leaving the teen to rub his temples slightly.

"Who was that?" Yuzu asked as she noticed Ichigo's face contort into his usual scowl.

"Ugh, just a friend. Looks like we're going to the beach."

"You don't seem to happy about that."

"Well, it could be worst. Just go get ready. And quick warning, there will be a LOT of people you don't know." Ichigo emphasized "lot" purely because he knew that the guests were more than likely mostly of the male gender. He didn't want his sisters around any such people, but it was hotter than normal and he didn't want the twins to die in this oven they called home. He needed some kind of backup to protect his sisters. He picked up his phone and made a call.

-Some time later-

Thankfully, the captains who came were the more manageable. Ichigo hoped that Zaraki didn't come with the group because he didn't think that he would be able to stop the fight that was almost guaranteed to happen between him and Ash. Ichigo gazed upon the visitors with slight annoyance. Karin and Yuzu began to mingle with Akame and Rangiku. Unohana had been talking to another white haired man, whom Ichigo didn't know. Byakuya stood beside Rukia and Renji sporting his usual expression. He also saw several other women but paid them little attention.

Chad, Uryu, and Orihime had agreed to meet the group at the beach, as did Toshiro and Ash. Ichigo secretly hoped that the shinigami would change their minds about heading to the beach, but as the day went on and the heat grew more intense, that idea quickly left his mind. They traveled by a personal bus that Urahara had supplied them and made their way to the nearest body of water.

They arrived at the beach quickly and wasted very little time in setting up. The beach was fortunately and oddly empty. The warm and slightly salty breeze felt heavenly on Ichigo's skin and the warm sand almost massaged his feet. Without a moment's notice, most of the males swarmed into the water, leaving Byakuya and the girls to set up the camp.

"Hi there, young ones." Rangiku said directed to Karin and Yuzu. "I don't think we've been introduced to each other. I'm Matsumoto Rangiku." The woman said, sounding bubbly. Karin never liked "overly happy" people so she inwardly cringed at the woman's smile. Yuzu beamed and waved her hand high.

"I'm Kurosaki Yuzu. And that's my sister Karin. How are you?"

"I'm fine. It's just really hot." Rangiku complained. Karin barely paid attention to the rest of the conversation. Instead she turned her attention towards the woman staring off into the open ocean. The woman was slightly shorter than she was but she looked lost in thought.

"Oi." Ichigo said once he picked up his phone. "Uh. Okay, want us to come closer? No? Okay." Renji turned towards the boy and raised a brow at the conversation he heard. He closed his phone and shrugged his shoulders. "That was Toshiro, he and Ash are here but a little further down. They're coming."

The guys had all entered the water and began splashing rather roughly, while the girls had chose to save the water for later and just talk for now. "So, got your eye on anyone here?" Rangiku asked Yuzu while raising an eyebrow. Yuzu blushed madly to the question and waved her hands in front of her dismissively. "Oh come on, there has to be someone you like? Is he here? Is he coming?"

"Ran-chan, stop asking the girl so many questions. She looks like an apple."

Rangiku pouted and took a lick of her ice cream. Yuzu chuckled nervously, "Thanks Yoruichi-san."

"I don't think she really likes anyone… but she does love Ash."

Several things happened after Yoruichi so casually made this statement. Akame's eyes widened and she began choking on her ice cream, Rangiku burst into laughter, Karin began sweating profusely as she feared Yoruichi doing the same thing to her and Soifon fell over. Yoruichi found it most funny when Soifon fell over. The petite woman had always had outrageous reactions and probably shouldn't have told her about her little attraction towards her star pupil.

"My Karin, you look so tense. Lighten up." Rangiku gave the girl a hearty tap on the back and Yuzu continued to blush brighter than fire itself. Yoruichi took a sip of her tea and made the mood overly serious.

"Ye, my girl. Lighten up. You don't want Shiro-chan to see you like that now would you?" Yoruichi teased again.

The boys only heard the laughter from the girls table as the aggressively attacked each other in the ocean water. This had went from a nice playful day to all out war. Ichigo and Renji worked together in order to combat Yumichika and Ikkaku. Chad and Uryu had also began working together to somehow get a cease fire. Byakuya, though face as stoned as ever, carefully plotted out the demise of both teams. Rukia was on the beach and wouldn't be in harm's way when the battle ensued.

"You guys cannot be serious." They heard a familiar voice speak. They all turned, save for Byakuya to see Toshiro standing on a rock with Ash facing the ocean. Toshiro wore a pair of white trunks with a black dragon design going in a diagonal pattern over his left leg. Ash wore a plain black pair and he and Toshiro both sported dark grey sleeveless shirts.

Enjoying the look of confusion on everyone's face, Toshiro and Ash proceeded to the girl's table to say hello.

**A/N:** **So, I'm aware I've been gone for two months. That's due to me going through that weird point in your life when you transition from high school to working full time. Sorry for the extreme delay but the updates will continue.**


End file.
